


Off The Path

by SapphireLazulii



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-13 07:10:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 55,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5699548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireLazulii/pseuds/SapphireLazulii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reno has left Edge behind and has shacked up in Modeoheim. When he hears a cry for help in the wildnerness, he grabs the chance to procrastinate with both hands. Que interesting events with someone unexpected and a fair amount of alcohol. My first attempt at fiction so be gentle! Rated for Reno's language and fluff and future smut. ReTi</p><p>Currently updated daily. Story is fully written and finished :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Working Hard Or Hardly Working?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

AN: Helloooooo. So, I have noooo idea if anyone will even read this. I've been reading a LOT of fics recently and it inspired me to have a wee crack at it myself. I used to write fics when I was like 16 and haven't written since, so if you do stumble upon this, please be gentle ^^'

The title may change and I'm not sure how long this is going to be since it's just for fun. Rated for Reno's language and some possible fluff later on. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 1 : Working Hard Or Hardly Working?

Reno hated snow. That was the funny thing.

And yet, here he was, surrounded by it day in and day out, as far as the eye could see. The snowflakes that drifted from the sky melted almost as soon as they came in contact with his flushed skin. The only sound in the silent winter landscape was the _thunk_ of the axe Reno was swinging as it connected with the base of the tree he laboured to fell, and the harsh breaths that escaped his parted lips accompanied by a cloud of moisture with each exhale in the cold air. Slinging the axe onto his shoulder, Reno swiped his free arm across his brow. As much as he enjoyed the manual labour, it still took a bit of getting used to sweating so much in such a cold environment. He was so used to the muggy Midgar air, and even Edge had seemed claustrophobic compared to where he was now. The conflicting cold against his heated body was irritating.

He had been almost as surprised as Rude was when he had told his partner that he was leaving. _Ex partner_ , Reno reminded himself with a frown. He couldn't explain what had been the final deciding factor, but something just clicked after the triplets had been defeated. Seeing Cloud facing up to Sephiroth yet again had been a deja vu Reno did not not care to relive. And with the cure for Geostigma working it's way through the infected citizens of Edge, life had changed for the ex-Turk. He no longer had a purpose there. Not in his mind anyway. And he didn't fancy staying around in Edge, making pleasantries with everyone from his past life with ShinRa. So he left. He wandered the Eastern Continent, picking up odd jobs here and there. Then he made his way to the Western Continent, but still he felt like something was missing. And so, he'd found himself on the Northern Continent.

There was always work to be done in and around Icicle Inn. Thankfully, even with Reno's extremely recognisable features, none of the village folk seemed to care that he was an ex-Turk. Honest work for honest pay. Even still, he settled himself in a small cabin just outside Modeoheim. He would rather not hang around the village proper too much, in case he bumped into someone with a grudge against ShinRa. It had been 4 years since Meteorfall, and over a year since the last traces of Geostigma had finally been wiped out. But those who had escaped from Midgar towards the end had settled all over Gaia, and more often than not they still heavily blamed ShinRa for losing their homes. Not that any of them were well trained enough to actually do Reno any serious harm, but he was quite comfortable where he was (minus this friggin' constant snow) and would rather not have to deal with constant confrontation from the villagers. Nope, Reno just wanted to wake up, work, and head home. Maybe with a bit of fun thrown in here and there for good measure.

Sitting down on a stump and resting his axe on the ground behind him, the redhead eased off one of his gloves with his teeth and with his now free hand, pulled a flask from one of the breast pockets on his padded jacket. Sure, he wasn't supposed to be drinking on the job, but a little nip to warm his insides wouldn't hurt. Pulling down the heavy scarf that was wrapped around the lower half of his face and tipping his head back, Reno lifted the flask to his lips and felt the amber liquid slide down his throat. Most people would have coughed or gagged as the whisky burned it's way towards their stomach, but this wasn't Reno's first rodeo. Instead, he simply sighed with satisfaction as the warmth spread out from his chest as he screwed the lid back on the flask and placed it back in his pocket.

"Right. Enough time wastin'. Quicker I get through this, the quicker I get home and get a real drink, yo." Reno said aloud, despite there being no one around. He was more convincing himself to get back to work than explaining to anyone. He picked the axe back up and took a step towards the tree he was working on and was just about to take a swing when a noise reached him even under the woolly hat he had pulled down to protect his ears from the biting cold. Frowning, Reno lifted his hat slightly to listen again to see if he had imagined it. Back in Midgar, he would never have allowed anything to impair his hearing, but out here he allowed himself to relax slightly. Straining his ears, Reno heard what was unmistakably a scream for help. A girl, judging by the pitch of the noise. _Mind you, pretty sure Rude reached a similar range that time Elena accidentally nailed him right between the legs in Wutai._ _That was some vacation_. _And who knew she got so feisty when drunk?_ Reno couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he weighed up his options. He could simply ignore the noise. He wasn't exactly known for his glowing conscience. He knew he would sleep fine tonight if he simply finished his work and headed home. But on the other hand, he would be able to procrastinate some more if he investigated the source of the sound.

Another cry for help pierced the silence, and Reno made his mind up. After all, the trees weren't going anywhere.

* * *

AN: Chapter 1 done! Hope whoever reads this enjoys it so far and Reno doesn't come across OOC! If you notice any typos please let me know :) Although I should mention I'm Scottish so there will be some spelling changes from the American spellings! :3


	2. Don't I Know You From Someplace?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno finds the source of the cry for help and decides to help out of the goodness of his heart. Also, he can totally waste enough time to avoid going back to work if he helps out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Reno mentally prepared himself for what he would find as he took off in the direction of the sound. Most likely it was some tourist who had wandered too far off the path or had taken a wrong turn on the ski slopes and either gotten lost or ran upon on a monster or two. The monsters that roamed the Planet these days were nowhere near as fierce or terrifying as they had once been when Mako reactors were still in use, but there were some who still hid in remote areas. Reno was more than capable of taking out the stragglers, but he generally found that if he avoided them, they left him alone in return.

Racing along the worn path, Reno heard the woman again and put on a burst of speed as he realised he was close. He couldn't help but think the voice was somewhat familiar, but he quickly pushed that thought to the back of his head as he spotted the source of the sounds up ahead. Narrowing his eyes, he could make out the body of a Bandersnatch trapped below a fallen tree, though it seemed to be dead or at the very least unable to move. He also saw a pair of well padded legs sticking out from under the same tree, although whoever they belonged to was still very much alive as they twitched and flailed, trying to scramble out from under the trunk of the tree. Reno slowed to a jog as he got closer, his fingers tightening around the handle of his axe slightly. He might be retired, but that didn't mean he wasn't still wary of strangers in strange places.

"Need a hand over there?" He called out, his voice muffled slightly by his scarf. The legs stilled for a moment as whoever it was called out in surprise. Obviously they didn't expect anyone to be around these parts, despite their calling for help.

"Uh, hello? Can you help me? I was attacked and then this tree fell on me. I can't get out!" An equally muffled voice called back. Reno walked up to the fallen tree, his hand relaxing slightly. Whoever was under there, they weren't in any position to be jumping up on him. He leaned over the trunk when he reached the woman, craning to try and see her face.

"Attacked and trapped one after another? Some luck you have!" Reno couldn't help but smirk behind his scarf.

"Tell me about it." The woman mumbled as she turned her head to look at him. She was dressed similarly to Reno, with a scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face and a woolly hat pulled down over her head, although hers had a ridiculously large pom pom on the top. She also had a pair of goggles on, which made Reno think she had perhaps been skiing although there was no sign of her skis. Reno rested his foot on the log and leaned forward a bit more, his arm draped across his raised knee.

"Well, looks like your luck has changed. You woulda been here overnight if I hadn't been nearby." Reno continued to smirk. It had been a while since he'd had a one on one conversation with a lady, and going by her voice he was taking bets that she wasn't much younger than him. And hopefully cute! He might even manage to wrangle a date out of her as a thank you if he was charming enough.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, can you call for help? The Bandersnatch is taking most of the weight of this but I'm not exactly comfortable here so the quicker this log is off me the better!" The woman patted the tree with a gloved hand, as if Reno hadn't noticed it. "I dunno if you noticed but I'm kinda trapped under it."

"Now, now. Is that any way to speak to your saviour?" Reno drawled as he straightened up and walked round so he was standing beside her head. He noticed a few strands of damp coal coloured hair peeking out from behind her hat. She had obviously been here long enough for the snow to start melting slightly beneath her, but that didn't mean Reno was in too much a hurry. What fun was playing the hero without some dramatics?

Even with her face hidden, Reno could feel the woman giving him a look of disbelief as he crouched down beside her and felt along the underside of the tree carefully. Standing back up, he looked around, scanning for something.

"Not to be rude, but… Are you planning on calling for help? This thing is pretty heavy, I doubt one person is gonna be able to lift it off…" She trailed off as Reno suddenly jogged out of sight. She craned her neck to see where he had gone. Surely he hadn't just ran off and left her?

As soon as the thought was out of her head, he reappeared with a sizeable boulder in his arms. Laying it down a few feet from her, he disappeared again, and returned moments later with a short but sturdy looking log. Sliding one end under the fallen tree and balancing it on the rock, Reno pushed down on the other end of the log. He grit his teeth as he struggled to apply the right amount of leverage to lift the tree slowly so that it didn't move in such a way as to roll back or forward and accidentally crush the girl. He couldn't very well claim back a date in gratitude if he accidentally killed her.

With a creak that sounded much louder than it probably was in the silence of the surrounding trees, the fallen trunk slowly lifted up off the girl and the wolf's body. Reno pushed a little more and then held it, looking over at the woman who hadn't moved. She seemed to be staring at him. Reno knew that even with all the padding of his layers, he didn't look like much so she probably assumed he didn't have much strength. Hence her surprise when he managed to free her single handedly.

"Any time you're ready. This thing isn't heavy at all, yo." He grumbled as the girl seemed to come to her senses and scrambled free. As soon as she was clear, Reno removed his weight from the short log and the trunk slammed back down, muffled slightly by the Bandersnatch body still underneath. Reno barely had time to call out and warn her as the pressure coming back down on the dead wolf caused a spray of bloody and gore to shoot out from either side of the trunk, covering the girl and the surrounding snow. He gawked as the girl lay still, her arms spread in disbelief as she stared down at her now sodden torso and legs. Reno expected her to scream, but she was obviously made of tougher stuff as she simply spluttered a few expletives and scrambled to her feet.

"Wow. This is probably the worst rescue ever. And I've seen some pretty shoddy rescues…" She grumbled as she shot Reno a look, her arms still held out from her body as if she was trying to avoid touching the gore despite being covered from the chest down.

"At least you're out from under the tree." Reno raised a gloved hand to his mouth to stifle a laugh as he spoke. She obviously realised he was about to laugh at her misfortune and raised a single finger, pointing at him in a way that even without seeing her face, said _Don't you dare…_ loud and clear. The image of this girl, standing in the pure white snow, covered in blood, with a pom-pom hat on, waving a threatening finger at him was too much. Reno couldn't hold back his laughter as he doubled over, clutching his stomach. His laughter was short lived and turned into a yell of shock as he felt a pile of snow being dumped over his head. He stared at his feet in disbelief as the slush slid from his head into the ground beneath him.

_Wait, red snow? Aw hell no…_

Reno jumped back and stared at the girl in horror as she burst out laughing, a second handful of what could only be described as a Bandsnatch coated snowball in her hands.

"Are you serious?! Did you actually just throw gut-flavoured snow at the guy who just saved you? That's pretty low, yo!"

"Hey, you laughed at me first! You deserved it!" The girl giggled as she lifted her goggles off her face and settled them on the brim of her hat. Reno barely had time to grumble about ungrateful damsels in distress before he noticed her eyes. They were a deep brown, flecked with a rich crimson which twinkled in amusement. Long dark eyelashes framed them, and Reno thanked his lucky stars that his hope that she was cute was going good so far. She almost seemed familiar. He was still staring slightly as she picked up handfuls of snow and attempted to use it to rub off the blood from her suit. Reaching up, Reno brushed off the remaining snow from his neck, his nose wrinkling as the red and white mush flicked onto the ground at his feet.

"Yeah, yeah. Guessing you're not exactly a girly girl if splattering someone in blood is your idea of a just reward?" He couldn't help but grinning beneath his scarf as he walked over to her and helped her to brush off some of the snow. As he got closer, he couldn't help the nagging feeling that her eyes were familiar. He ran through his mental catalogue of girls he'd met whenever he'd wandered into the village for supplies, a drink, or even for some company for the evening.

"You could say that. Though I've seen quite enough bloody and gore to do me a lifetime." Even muffled behind her scarf, Reno could hear a hint of sadness in her voice. Damn, he'd just met this girl, he didn't want to be dragging up the past of someone he didn't even know.

"Yeah, well, this snow is only gonna do so much for cleaning. And when it melts, you're gonna be freezing and pneumonia is not fun, yo. Best to get changed out of those clothes asap. Where are you stayin'?"

"Wow, you're suggesting getting me out of my clothes and asking where I'm staying already? Fast mover, aren't you?" Her eyes twinkled again with merriment. Not afraid of getting messy AND flirtatious? Reno was glad that he'd heard her shouting for help.

"Hey, I'm just playing the knight in shining armour here. How you want to thank me for my services is your call." Reno smirked. He folded his arms across his chest and cocked his head to the side. The girl let out a bark of laughter and waved her hand at him.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just kidding. I'm staying at Icicle Inn. I was snowboarding and decided to take a different track. I don't even know how far I am from where I started."

"You're a fair bit away. Probably a good few hours walk back. You're closer to Modeoheim than Icicle Inn out here." Reno shifted his weight to one foot, gesturing over his shoulder with a tilt of his head. "You'd be best rentin' a snowmobile to get back before dark. Not sure if there will be any left in town at this time mind you."

"Oh, great." The girl grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest and mirroring his pose. Reno couldn't help but notice how her jacket strained slightly across her bust as she folded her arms. It took a well practiced amount of willpower to keep his eyes on hers.

"Look, I'm just about ta clock off for the day. Why don't I walk you back to town and you can rent a snowmobile and be on your way back home? I'd offer you a place to stay til mornin', but I wouldn't want you takin' advantage of my hospitality." Reno chuckled. The girl unfolded her arms and he saw the sides of her eyes crease with a smile.

"Yeah, I can tell you're not that kind of girl," she replied, earning a bark of laughter from Reno. He appreciated a bit of flirtatious banter, and she was giving as good as she got. "I'd really appreciate that. I'm starting to really feel the cold out here."

"Hey, it's no problem. It's about a half hour walk back to the town, so you'll have time to warm up there before you set off. But only if we get going now."  
Reno turned to make his way over to his axe which he had abandoned in his search for a boulder earlier. "I guess since we're gonna be spendin' a bit more time together I should really get your name?" He asked as he picked up his axe and turned to face her. As she reached up to pull down the scarf covering her face, Reno mentally crossed his fingers that the rest of her face was as promising as her eyes. His breath caught in his throat however as the scarf slid down to reveal a familiar petite nose and full, pink lips that were upturned in a smile that he doubted would be present is she realised who he was. He swallowed hard as her smile widened further as she spoke.

"My name is Tifa. Tifa Lockhart."

* * *

AN: Dun dun dun! Reno's been flirting with the enemy! Is she still the enemy? Who knows how he views her right now! Fun fun :D


	3. It's A Small World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the damsel in distress turns out to be none other than Tifa Lockhart. Reno decided to keep his identity a secret and escort her back to Modeoheim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

_Of all the people in all of Gaia I could run into out here, it had to be her._

Reno tried to keep his eyes expressionless as his fingers flexed around the wooden handle in his hand. It had been a long time since they'd been enemies, but that didn't mean she'd be thrilled to find out that he was the one who had helped her. Even when he'd been drinking in her bar before he'd left Edge, she was always cold towards him. He always felt like she was on the verge of bringing up Sector 7 whenever she narrowed her eyes at him.

Her eyes weren't narrow now, though. They were sparkling and grateful, in a way that Reno had never seen them. Mostly because Tifa never looked at him with gratitude before. He quickly became aware of the silence stretching between them and her smile was slowly fading. _Shit. What do I say back?_ Reno's mind began to race. On one hand, he could just pull the scarf off his face and let his rather memorable tattoos give his identity away. Or he could remove his hat and his bright red hair would do the same job. What then? Would she storm off? Slap him even, out of embarrassment for flirting with him of all people? Reno went for the other option.

Lie outright.

"Tifa, huh? Good ta meetcha. We better get going if you wanna get back home before nightfall." Reno dropped the tone of his voice slightly as he turned on his heels and started off towards town, not even looking back to see if she was following. The crunching of snow behind him a few moments later told him that she was though. He sighed and inwardly grumbled to himself that any chance he had of talking her into spending the evening in his company was well and truly dashed now. Not that he hadn't in the past entertained the idea of a night with the busty brunette, he was a warm bloodied male after all and Tifa wasn't exactly hard on the eyes. But he was pretty sure she was still obssessed with a certain chocobo-headed hero. His inner grumblings were interrupted as Tifa suddenly appeared right beside him and he couldn't help but jump a little in surprise. She had pulled her scarf back up to ward off the cold but her goggles remained in top of her head and she stared at him with those big eyes. How was it possible for someone to have eyelashes that long?

"You ok? You took off kinda suddenly there." Tifa kept pace with him, trying to look him in the eye, but Reno kept his gaze straight ahead. She frowned behind her scarf. They had been chatting fine a moment ago, almost playfully. Tifa was surprised herself at how chatty she was with a random stranger. But the point of this holiday for her was to get away from Edge and the same people day in and day out. No one here knew her, so why couldn't she have a little fun without worrying about the consequences? She raised an eyebrow as she stared at her companion. She could swear he was trying his best to avoid her.

"Jus' don't wanna waste time if you gotta try and catch a snowmobile from the hire place. Modeoheim isn't exactly a huge town and with it bein' the weekend, chances are some of the locals have hired them already to go up to Icicle Inn to head to the bars up there. There isn't a hotel you could stay at either…" Reno let his words drift off. He was rambling. What was wrong with him? He mentally slapped himself. He could feel Tifa still staring at him, her long legs easily keeping pace with him even as he sped up slightly. He heard her sigh quietly.

"Ok ok. I get it. Just didn't think you'd all of a sudden wanna stop talking to me. You seemed talkative enough before." She tilted her head slightly, stuffing her hands in her pockets before remembering the gunk that still covered her. She couldn't help but let out a disgusted groan as she pulled her hands back out of her pockets and spread her fingers, watching the stringy gore cling to her gloves. Wrinkling her nose, she wiped her gloves on her jacket, only making the mess worse. Tifa sighed in exasperation before she turned to look at the man next to her, noticing his shoulders shaking slightly. Surely he wasn't cold? He wasn't half as wet as she was. And he said he was out working, so surely he'd be used to the temperature. It then clicked why he was trembling.

"Are you laughing at me?!" Tifa stared at him, pulling her scarf down to reveal her mouth hanging open in shock. One minute he wasn't talking to her, then he was back to mocking her?! How rude!

Reno nearly dropped his axe as he tried his best to contain his mirth. He couldn't help but notice Tifa out the corner of his eye trying her best to clean her gloves and just spreading the muck around on her jacket. It was like something from a comedy sketch. When she moved her scarf to stare at him open mouthed, he couldn't hold back anymore. He wasn't even sure why it was so funny. Maybe it was because Tifa had no idea who it was underneath the scarf and hat. He reckoned she'd be more embarrassed if she knew, which in turn made him laugh harder. Through eyes screwed up with laughter, he saw that although her brows were furrowed in annoyance, the corner of her mouth was lifted in a barely controlled grin. He wiped at his eyes as he managed to calm himself down.

"Sorry. Don't even know why that was so funny. How could you forget you were covered in wolf innards? Hope there was nothin' valuable in your pockets." Reno chuckled slightly, his need to keep staring straight ahead forgotten as he watched her face. Tifa stuck her tongue out at him before she pulled her scarf back up.

"I'm glad you're amused. At least it got you talking again." She replied, her eyes still glittering slightly. Reno couldn't help but smile behind his scarf. She obviously didn't know who he was yet, so maybe he could keep conversation up until they got back to Modeoheim. Surely there would be no harm in that.

* * *

AN: So, Reno knows who she is but isn't giving away his identity just yet! Sneaky sneaky Turk. How will Tifa react when she realises it's a certain redhead under there? Heh heh. Bit of a shorter chapter this one, but it seemed like a good place to cut it off.

I got over excited and posted three chapters pretty much back to back. I'm having fun with this even if no-one else is haha! Lemme know what you think if you do stumble across this fic! :)


	4. Let's Mosey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tifa explains how she ended up in her predicament as they arrive at the village

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

"So, what brings you to Icicle Inn?" Reno propped his axe over his shoulder, casting a sideways glance at Tifa. She looked at her feet as she kicked at the snow.

"That obvious I'm a tourist, huh?"

"Well, ya did take a rather spectacular wrong turn on the slopes. Most locals tend not to get lost."

"Hey, it's not my first time here! I just got bored of the regular routes and thought I'd try something new." Tifa flushed, obviously annoyed at herself for veering so far off the track. Reno grinned to himself.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, lesson learned. I ain't always gonna be out there ready to save yer ass whenever you take a detour and decide to go Bandersnatch huntin' at the same time. What happened anyway?"

"It was nothing I couldn't handle." Tifa sniffed, tilting her chin upwards. Reno knew for a fact Tifa could take care of herself against a single wolf, but for all she knew he thought she was some weak little girl. " I managed to take care of the wolf no problem but in the scuffle, it knocked me into that tree. I had just taken care of it and was too busy looking for….. Aw no, my snowboard!" Tifa suddenly realised that in the excitement of her rescue, she had totally forgotten to relocate her board. Damn, it was one of her favourites.

"Uh huh. So how'd you end up trapped?" Reno raised an eyebrow questioningly. He made a mental note to look for her board when he was back at work on Monday, but chances were the snowfall would hide it from view before then.

"I wasn't paying attention." Tifa admitted with chagrin. "By the time I heard the crack, it was too late. The tree wasn't particularly heavy, but the way it pinned me beside the Bandersnatch meant I couldn't get the leverage to free myself."

"Yeah. Lot of the old dead trees up here will fall over without much persuasion. Hence my job of takin' them down before they get a chance to fall. " Reno turned to look at her. "When random tourist girls don't come crashin' in and do my job for me, of course."

"Don't worry, your job's safe." Tifa giggled slightly. She was glad his little quiet spell was over with. The conversation was taking her mind off how cold she was getting. Trying to wipe off blood with wet snow was maybe not the brightest idea she'd ever had. Cocking her head slightly, she stared at him. She suddenly noticed how striking his eyes were. They almost glowed when he laughed, kinda like… _One of them. He couldn't be, could he? A SOLDIER? They're all gone.. aren't they?_ She felt the pit of her stomach clench slightly as she stared into his eyes. They were impossibly turquoise, so much so that they reminded her of the ocean at Costa del Sol. She shook her head slightly. If he had been a SOLDIER, he wouldn't have needed the boulder or the log to get that tree off her. Unless he was hiding his strength?

As she thought about it, she realised that he hadn't questioned her story either. She opened her mouth to say as much when she realised she was still staring at him and felt her cheeks flush. She quickly looked back down at her feet. Reno noticed her cheeks turn slightly pink and grinned to himself. He'd noticed her staring at his eyes but he didn't exactly mind. Hers were easy to get lost in, too. He looked back in the direction they were headed as she spoke again. He felt himself stiffen slightly as the next words left her mouth.

"You don't seem to be surprised that I managed to take down a wolf by myself."

"Uh… Well… I figured if you snowboard, you probably have decent enough strength in your legs. 'Cause, y'know, balance n stuff. And it wasn't like it was a full pack." Reno blurted out. He knew fine well the strength Tifa had in her legs. He had been on the receiving end of her blows enough times to know how strong she was. Not to mention he had seen them often enough stretching out from beneath that ridiculously tiny skirt she used to wear. He was pretty sure she wore it as an extra distraction for her opponent. Sure as hell worked on him more than once. He cleared his throat and continued. "You don't seem stupid enough to take detours on your own unless you could handle yourself."

"Hmm. That's true." Tifa mused aloud, staring ahead as she noticed the rooftops of a few cabins coming into sight. Reno followed her line of sight and smiled.

"Hey, that didn't take long." He pointed ahead. He tilted his head to look at Tifa and noticed she had started to tremble. Just in time. She's gotta be freezing by now.

Reno started to jog in the direction of the village. His scarf and hat was starting to itch, and the quicker he got Tifa back on her way, the quicker he could get home and have a well earned beer. _Though I gotta admit, her company hasn't exactly been terrible._

He sighed to himself. This has turned out to be quite a strange Friday.

* * *

AN: The name for this chapter has nothing to do with anything really. It just always made me laugh when Cloud said that.

If you could drop me a message to let me know what you think I would really appreciate it :3 This isn't going to be a serious fic, but it would be awesome to hear what people think of it either way.


	5. Well Ain't that Typical

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno's plan to ditch Tifa in town and disappear home for a stiff drink is dashed. How the hell is he gonna keep his identity a secret now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

By the time they made it into the village, Tifa was shivering violently. The wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped, making her very aware just how wet her clothing was. She hoped that it wouldn't take her long to get back to the hotel on a snowmobile and she was already dreaming of a hot bath when she had gotten back and warmed up a bit. She cast a sideways glance at her companion. Maybe tomorrow she would come back down here and take him out to lunch as a thank you for helping her. She knew she would have gotten out from under the tree eventually but it would have take a lot longer and been a lot more uncomfortable to wriggle free herself. Hugging herself, she followed him as he led her towards the hire shop.

The village wasn't much to look at. A handful of cabins in varying sizes, most of them with signs hanging above the door to advertise what they sold or did. She could make out the general store, a bar, and what looked to be a doctors surgery, although it was the most run down of the buildings she could see. There were a few more dotted about, but she couldn't make them out from where she was. The came to a stop outside a cabin that was more like a small hut with metal railing outside. Her heart sank when she heard him curse.

"Damn. Looks like you're outta luck. Not a single one left." Reno frowned at the empty racks outside the hire shop. He turned to face Tifa and could practically hear her teeth chattering. He grumbled under his breath as he weighed up his options. He couldn't very well leave her now, not after helping her so far. And he did have a spare room at his cabin. But how the hell did he get round this without her noticing who he was? He scratched his chin through his scarf and chewed his bottom lip.

"S-so, what do you suggest I do now?" Tifa rubbed her arms in an attempted to warm herself up. Reno couldn't help but sigh as he looked at her. This was probably the most vulnerable he'd ever seen her. They both knew she needed his help right now, and he cursed quietly as she stared at him with those big expectant eyes.

"Well, not much choice. The wind is really pickin' up out here so I guess I can't leave ya out here to freeze." Reno scratched the back of his head.  
"I have a spare room ya can use for the night. It's not much but it's warm and dry-"

"Oh, thank you!" Tifa cut him off as she suddenly threw her arms around him in a grateful hug. Reno flailed his arms slightly to stop himself from crashing over into the snow as she caught him off guard. She quickly straightened herself up and blushed furiously, surprised at her own forwardness. "Sorry. I'm just so cold and I was dreading having to make the journey home tonight." She explained, her eyes sparkling as she smiled. Reno couldn't help but smile back even as he cursed himself. He shrugged nonchalantly.

"No big deal. Just don't go tryin' to take advantage of me." He couldn't help but smirk as he turned and headed in the direction of his home. Tifa laughed in return, although she stopped just as suddenly.

"I've just realised, you haven't even told me your name." She trotted up beside him and leaned forward to look at his face. Reno but his bottom lip again. He'd managed to avoid this up until now.

"Just call me R."

"R, huh? Couldn't afford the full name?" Tifa teased, bumping his hip with hers playfully. The cold was easier to ignore when she knew she'd be warm sooner rather than later.

"R will do fine. Don't want ya writing my name in little love hearts in yer diary when ya get home. I know it'll be hard to get me out of yer head, what with me being such a generous saviour and all." Reno couldn't help himself. A bit of flirting on her part and he found himself craving more of her banter. Tifa was actually pretty fun when she wasn't trying to kill him.

"Hmph, modest aren't we? First you think I'm gonna take advantage of you, then you think I'm gonna be practicing how to write my name with your surname. Don't worry, I think I can hold myself back."

"Well thank goodness for that. Didn't want to think I was lettin' a bunny boiler into my house." He drawled as they came up upon his cabin. It was humble little abode, cosy enough but basic. She noticed it was a reasonably short distance from the village and up the hill slightly, but close enough that it was convenient for supplies. Looking around, Tifa couldn't help but admit it was actually in a beautiful location. Behind them, the small village was barely visible dipped into what she could see was a small valley. Behind the cabin, the mountain range stretched out into the horizon, dotted sporadically with tall fir trees which were currently covered in fine, powdery snow. It almost looked like a Christmas card.

Unzipping one of the many pockets on his jacket, he fished out his keys and slid them into the lock, opening the door. He kicked the excess snow off his boots and stepped into the small entrance hall. He felt Tifa squeeze in behind him after clearing off her boots, and he suddenly became aware of how small his entrance hall was. Tifa was practically pressed right up against him as she twisted to close the door behind them, shutting out the cold. Pushing down an old familiar feeling just below his stomach, he knelt to undo his boots and felt Tifa do the same behind him.

 _Brilliant. She's in your house now. What now, idiot? You don't want her to find out it's you and yet you're getting all turned on because she's pressed up against you. God Reno, it's been far too long since you've been laid_. Reno mentally kicked himself as he pulled his boots off. Not bothering to remove the rest of his clothing, he pushed open the door into the small living room and kitchen area. Thinking fast, he strode over to the spare bedroom which thankfully had a small en suite. Maybe if he was lucky, she'd simply shower and go to bed and he could deal with this problem in the morning.

Pulling out spare blankets and a few towels, he laid them in the bed before stopping in the doorway back to the living room. Tifa had shed her jacket, hat, scarf and waterproof trousers, and Reno found himself staring. She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a dark coloured long-sleeved polo neck sweater that clung tightly to her curves. Such a plain outfit, but on someone with a body like Tifa Lockhart, it was enough to send Reno's blood racing. He groaned quietly. Any other woman looking like that in his house, and he'd already have the drinks poured and the fire roaring whilst doing his best to charm her into bed. Not that he'd struggle. Reno knew fine well that he had plenty of charisma that set him in good stead with the ladies. But this particular lady could kick his ass.

Averting his eyes and stepping out of the room, Reno gestured to the spare room.

"Bedsheets and towels in there. I figured you'd probably want a shower. Remember don't turn it up too hot too quick, ya gotta thaw out a bit first or ya might go into shock. And don't worry, I know you'll probably be exhausted and wanna sleep right away. I won't hold it against ya." Reno's words tumbled out quickly as he suggested that sleep was the better option here. But Tifa just stood where she was and stared at him with those impossibly big eyes as a warm smile spread across her lips.

"Thank you so much. But… Could I trouble you for a drink of water? Maybe some food? I know you've already done enough for me, but I headed out early today and I haven't eaten since breakfast." Tifa shuffled her feet slightly, embarrassed to ask anything more of him. Reno mentally slapped himself a couple more times. This was not going to go well.

"Uh, sure. There's water in the fridge, probably not much though. And there's some stuff in there you can make a sandwich with. I ain't got much to choose from though, bachelor life and all that." Reno scratched the back of his head. Now that he was indoors, his hat and scarf were really starting to itch. Tifa smiled at him again and made her way into the kitchen, the sway in her hips more obvious now that they weren't padded up with snow gear. Reno groaned and ran his hand down his face as he watched her bend at the waist as she opened the fridge and searched for food.

_Good god, this is gonna fuckin' suck._

* * *

AN: Uh oh Reno, she's in your house now! How much longer can you keep your identity a secret? Probably not much longer :3

I changed the bit about the Internet. One of my awesome reviewers over at FF.net pointed out that so close after Meteorfall, chances are communications would still be at a minimum. So I hope the new edit works just as well :)

Coming next time, the big reveal! Mwahaha!


	6. Make Yourself At Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tifa gets cosy and decides to thank her rescuer. Who says no to a sandwich and a beer, right? Erm, probably a lot of people, but you gotta work with what you've got!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Tifa couldn't help but smile to herself as she opened the fridge. It was mostly full of beer with not a single vegetable in sight. There was one bottle of water and the only edible food was a small plate of leftover cooked meat hiding on the middle shelf. _Such a stereotypical single guy's fridge_. She giggled to herself as she took hold of the plate and pulled it out and set it on the counter top. She noticed that R had disappeared into the other room so she figured she would make him a sandwich too as a small thank you for all his help. After all, surely he was hungry? Quickly locating the bread, and some mayonnaise to ease the dryness of the bread and the meat, she set to making two simple sandwiches and set them on two small plates that she found in a cupboard. Neither plate matched the other and she stifled a small laugh. He probably didn't entertain guests much in this neck of the woods. Glancing back at the fridge, she figured he would probably be thisty too, so she grabbed a bottle of beer for him. With a moment of hesitation, Tifa grabbed a beer for herself too. She couldn't locate a bottle opener for the beer, but being a barmaid for as long as she had meant that wasn't a problem. Using the handle end of the butter knife, she popped open both beers and took a sip of one. The familiar taste caused a shiver of pleasure through her body. Tifa had always enjoyed a beer at the end of her shifts, it had been too long since she'd taken the time to sit down and treat herself to one.

Balancing the plates and bottles in her arms, she headed into the living room. It wasn't exactly sparse, but it wasn't overly homely either. There was a small corner couch in the middle of the room which had a few blankets draped over the back and a few mismatched cushions scattered here and there. In front of it a small coffee table that looked like it was made from reclaimed wood. It has been varnished, but still looked rustic. The floor was also polished wood, as were the beams that criss-crossed the ceiling. There was a tall lamp in the corner providing the only light in the room since the heavy curtains were pulled across the single window in the room, probably to keep the chill out more than anything else. Tifa also noticed there was a log fire with a pile of chopped wood in a basket at the side and was reminded of how cold she was. Putting the plates and beers down on the table, she knelt in front of the fireplace and set to preparing a stack of wood in the hearth. Once she was done, she picked up the box of matches lying beside the fireplace and carefully lit one, placing it gently into the centre of the kindling. It took a couple of attempts for the fire to catch, but eventually the kindling caught fire and started crackling and popping as the flame spread. Tifa sighed and stared into the fire, remembering the old days when she was chasing Sephiroth around Gaia with her friends. The fond memories of those times had usually involved sitting round a campfire with everyone, sharing stories of simpler peaceful times. Lighting the fire was easy back then thanks to Materia. She smiled and watched the flames engulf the kindling and she rubbed her arms as the warmth started to fill the small room.

Tifa glanced over at the bedroom door, then at the food and beer, then back at the door. She hadn't even seen R's face, but she had enjoyed the flirtatious chat between them. Getting to her feet, she smoothed her hair back with her fingers, which was probably sticking up in all angles from her hat. Satisfied that it was reasonably tamed, she trotted over to his door and gently knocked three times. She was warming up fine now and was in no rush to jump in the shower or go to sleep. A bit of company in front of the fire sounded ideal to Tifa.

She nibbled on her bottom lip as she waited for him to answer the door. It had been so long since Tifa had even felt so much as a flutter in her stomach due to male company. And it wasn't like her to be like this with someone she just met, but he didn't seem to mind. Tifa had been so young when her life had started taking dramatic twists and turns that now at 24 years old, she figured she owed it herself to act like the single young woman she was. Not that she had any intention of sleeping around, but if she found a guy who had enough charm and wit to make her laugh and engage her in conversation, she wasn't going to brush them off anymore like she would have before. _Besides, it's not like I have any special at home waiting for me._

Brushing off the train of dark thoughts that were threatening to ruin her evening, she knocked again and clasped her hands behind her back, which in turn pushed her bust outwards and upwards slightly. She wasn't the kind of girl to obviously throw her assets around, but maybe a bit of something different was just what the doctor ordered. She needed this distraction, to be away from Edge. To be away from…..him. Chewing on her lip again, Tifa pressed her ear to the door. She could hear shuffling around, so she knew R hadn't fallen asleep on her. She didn't want the sandwich to go to waste, he didn't seem to have much food in the cabin as it was. She wrapped her slender fingers around the doorknob and gently turned it. Creaking the door open a small amount, she leaned forward.

"Hey, R? You in there? I made sandwiches and grabbed us a couple of beers. And I lit a fire, I hope you don't mind?" She called through the gap in the door. He must not have been expecting her to open the door, because she suddenly heard him yelp in surprise followed by a crash. Without thinking, she pushed the door open and looked in. "Oh my god, R are you ok? I didn't mean to scare you!" She let go of the door knob as she spotted a pile of clothes and towels just in front of the door to what was probably the en suite. She felt colour rise in her cheeks as she realised she had caught him on his way into the shower. _Oh my god Tifa, he could have been naked! What were you thinking?_ She felt hands coming up to cover her mouth as he flailed around on the floor, trapped in the various materials. Before she could help herself, laughter burst from her lips at the sight of limbs scrambling to free themselves. Obviously realising that she was now standing in the open doorway, the pile of clothes and towels stopped suddenly. Tifa was still laughing as he started to turn towards her. Her laughter started to die in her throat as the clothing slipped and she noticed a shock of bright red hair. As he turned, she saw a familiar red mark on his cheek and the colour drained from her face. And as he finished turning completely to look at her, with a grin and an unapologetic shrug, Tifa had to hold onto the doorframe to stop her legs from collapsing beneath her.

"Erm…. Surprise?"

Tifa barely heard the second word out his mouth as she screamed.

* * *

AN: Fun fact, I have a friend who can open a beer bottle with pretty much anything. We tend not to have those screw tops that you get stateside, so he learned to get a cap off with anything he could get his hands of. I can do it too but it takes a good few attempts for me!

So, Tifa has clicked who her knight and shining armour is. It should get interesting from here! I hope Tifa doesn't seem too OOC I actually used to be very anti-Tifa because I was a total Cleris fan. But after playing CC and deciding that Aeris and Zack were where it was at, I've softened up to Tifa a lot. And I kinda love this pairing too. So yeah, if anything is way off, please let me know! :)

You guys will be happy to know I churned out another 10K+ words for this today so I have at least another 10 chapters! It gets pretty conversation heavy after this so I hope that's ok!


	7. Beer Fixes Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tifa discoveres who came to her aid out in the woods and has the same reaction most people would to finding out she was in a Turks home- she makes like a tree and gets the fuck out. However, Reno manages to talk her into staying and bribes her with beer. Hey, it'd work for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

"YOU!"

Reno clamped his hands to his ears as Tifa started her tirade, causing him to wince slightly at the volume. He was getting too used to quiet living to handle being screamed at.

"It was you all this time?! You let me go on and on and didn't even tell me who you were! AND you invited me into your home? Oh my god, I'm in your home! What were you planning you PERVERT!" Tifa grabbed fistfuls of her own hair as she paced back and forward, unable to process just who was sitting in front of her. Reno raised his hands up in front of himself in defense as he scooted round to face her.

"Whoa, Tifa! I wasnt plannin' anything! I didn't even want you to figure out who I was!"

"Yeah, I'll bet you didn't! Bet you were gonna wait until it was dark and then try something!" She growled, stopping her pacing to glare at him. Reno's eyes darkened.

"Hey, I don't like what you're insinuating here." He snapped, his brows furrowing. Reno was many things - a killer, foul-mouthed, and a bit of a womaniser - but he had never taken advantage anyone in that way, especially not against their will. He firmly drew the line there. Tifa hadn't noticed the change in his face however as she stomped back into the livingroom. Jumping to his feet, Reno went to follow her until he remembered he had been in the process of disrobing when she'd surprised him. As comfortable as Reno was with his own body, following her out in his underwear wouldn't really help the situation. He quickly pulled on a pair of black sweatpants and a baggy white t-shirt before he jogged out after her. Tifa was sitting in the small hallway, attempt to pull her sodden clothing back on, her bobble hat stuffed back on her head. She was grumbling curses under her breath as he walked over to her.

"Where do ya think you're goin'?" Reno quizzed, lifting an eyebrow. She stared up at him from the floor, her cheeks flushed and his lips set in a hard line.

"I'm going back to my hotel. I'm not staying here a minute longer!"

"Tifa..." Reno sighed as he hunched down beside her. She was currently trying to pull on her trousers inside out in her haste. It took more than a bit of willpower to keep a straight face at the sight of her so flustered. "A few minutes ago you were happy to stay here even though you though I was a complete stranger. Now that ya know who I am, you wanna face hypothermia to get away from me? That hurts, yo." He clutched his chest dramatically as she stopped to glare at him.

"A stranger I can handle. But you?"

"Better the devil you know, I always heard."

"Hmph, the devil isn't a bad way to describe you." She grumbled as she made another attempt at getting her leg into the inside out clothing. Reno sighed and stood upright, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Look. I ain't gonna try anything. And even YOU aren't gonna make it back to Icicle Inn tonight without either getting lost or worse. I promise I'll leave ya alone if ya wanna stay. It's no skin off my nose either way." Reno waved his hand in the air as he turned and headed over to his couch.

Tifa kicked in annoyance at her trousers. Putting them on inside out had soaked her legs through her jeans and now they were covered in various Bandersnatch bits too. Exasperated, she pulled them off and flung them at the wall. She cast a glance at Reno, who had sat down and started munching on the sandwich she'd made for him, seemingly ignoring her now. Her stomach growled in betrayal as she watched him take a second bite and wash it down with a swig from his beer. She looked down at her her soaked clothing. He had a point. She had been perfectly willing to stay when she didn't even know what he looked like. And she knew Reno well enough, even if they had been on opposite sides for the majority of the time. She remembered back to the time they bumped into each other in Wutai, and again in Midgar towards the end right before Meterofall. He had turned down a fight then, so maybe he really did just want a quiet life? He and the rest ofthe Turks had also helped out when Bahamut SIN and the triplets threatened to destroy Edge. Tifa pulled her hat from her head and got to her feet, brushing herself off. She padded over to the couch in front of Reno, narrowing her eyes at him as he munched away on his sandwich, seemingly ignoring her. He gulped down the mouthful and looked at her as she sat on the hardwood floor.

"I'm assumin' you made this for me. 'ppreciate it a lot." Reno said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before taking another drink of his beer. Tifa shrugged nonchalantly as she reached for her own sandwich.

"Figured it was the least I could do." She mumbled as she took a bite. She had almost forgotten how hungry she was. Reno leant back and stretched his free arm out along the back of the couch as he watched her.

"Why you sittin' on the floor anyhow?"

"I got blood on my jeans and I didn't wanna mess your couch up."

"Oh. Uh, thanks I guess." Reno stared down at his beer bottle before taking a bigger gulp. If the night was gonna be this awkward, he was gonna need something stronger than beer to get through it. He looked at Tifa again as she finished off the last of her sandwich and picked up her bottle. _Might as well attempt some sort of conversation...  
_

"So. Didn't take ya for a beer drinker..." He trailed off, watching her to see if she would even reply. She took a long swig of the beer before relaxing the bottle into her lap, picking at the label absent-mindedly.

"Yeah. Used to enjoy one or two whenever I closed up the bar at night. The old bar, that was."

"Oh. Not so much anymore?" Reno looked at his own beer, feeling like he was clutching at straws. He kinda missed the flirty, chatty Tifa she had been before she figured out who he was.

"No. I never really had time with Marlene and Denzel around." She sighed slightly, lifting the bottle to her lips and taking another drink before she returned to picking at the label. She had peeled half of it off. Reno realised this conversation was taking a bad turn.

"Well, yer welcome to help yourself to whatever is in the fridge. I have plenty more in the garage out back. And there's a pretty decent stash of stronger stuff if it takes your fancy." He offered, attempting what he hoped was a warm smile. _Since when did you care if Tifa Lockhart was feeling down? You're getting soft in retirement, Red._ His inner monologue scoffed. Tifa looked up at him, a small smile ghosting across her lips.

"Eh, thanks. I don't wanna impose though."

"Nonsense! I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it. I ain't THAT nice." He grinned, feeling like he was making a bit of progress. Tifa couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you aren't. The Reno I knew probably would have left me out in the snow today."

"Eh. My arms were getting tired at work. Any excuse to procrastinate." He shrugged as he finished his beer and got up to head to the fridge. He pulled out two more bottles and held them up as he looked over at Tifa, waving the bottles gently in suggestion. She gave a slight nod and drained the rest of her bottle. Reno couldn't help but grin slightly as he brought the bottles through and sat back on the couch. Angling the lid against the small table's edge, he knocked down on the top of the bottle with his closed fist, popping the cap off before he handed her the other beer. He noticed her smiling as he opened his own drink in the same way.

"Times so tough that you can't afford a bottle opener?" Tifa questioned as she took a drink. Damn, this beer was good. She didn't even find herself worrying that she hadn't eaten much today and even a few beers would probably leave her a bit tipsy. She had every intention of disappearing into her room for the night before she got to that stage. The corner of Reno's mouth lifted in a lazy one-sided smile as he raised his bottle towards her.

"Who needs bottle openers? I have a perfectly good table here that does the job just fine. One of my many talents." He continued to smile as she cocked her head at him. "Cheers to a bit of company to drink with with, though. It's sometimes a little too quiet for my likin' up here." He said by way of explanation as she stared at his outstretched arm. She clinked her own bottle against his and they both took a long drink from their bottles. Reno couldn't help but notice a slight flush in her cheeks already as she brought her bottle back down from her lips and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

_I wonder what kind of drunk Tifa Lockhart is?_

* * *

AN: So, Tifa is staying. And Reno is actually trying to be nice?! Can tigers really change their stripes or is this just a side of him Tifa hasn't seen before?


	8. Rumours, Rumours, Rumours.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The drinking continues and Reno informs Tifa of an interesting explanation for her fidgeting. It's basically science.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

"So, why Icicle Inn for a holiday? Didn't you guys buy a villa in Costa del Sol?" Reno tilted his head slightly as he returned from the fridge with a third beer for each of them. Tifa was already beginning to relax slightly thanks to the alcohol, though Reno reckoned she was anything but a lightweight. Most barmaids could hold their drinks, he'd found. Tifa finished off the drink in her hand and set it down as Reno handed her another. She shook her head, her hair sliding over her shoulders. Reno noticed it had grown longer since he'd seen her last, though not quite as long as it had been when he'd first met her.

"That was Cloud who bought the villa. He lets us use it whenever we want but I wanted to get away from... everything." Tifa explained with a slight frown. She didn't want to go into much detail. This was _Reno_ she was talking to, not one of her friends. She took another drink and looked away from his gaze. He lifted an eyebrow but took the hint she didn't wanna talk about it. He'd just got her to chill out, he didn't wanna push her walls back up again.

"Fair enough. Icicle Inn is as good a place as any to get away from everything."

"What about you? Why here?" Tifa turned back to look at him. Reno shifted in his seat slightly but kept his expression neutral. She thought she saw his eyes flash a little.

"Just wanted away from Edge. I travelled around for a bit but I've been here about six months. It's quiet, I get left alone to do my own thing so it suits me. Change of pace." He replied in a tone that made it clear he didn't want to go into why he was here any more than she did. Tifa looked down at her beer, picking again at the label. Reno looked at her, then at the little pile of discarded labels beside her empty bottles on the table. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. She caught him out the corner of her eye and looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nothin'."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Tifa narrowed her eyes slightly as she continued to pick at the label. Reno's grin widened.

"No reason, it's just... that's an interesting habit you've got there."

"Huh? Oh!" Tifa noticed the little pile of labels in front of her. She hadn't realised she still did that. She put the beer in her hand on the table and folded her hands. "Sorry. I didn't even know I was doing it." She apologised, noticing the grin on Reno's face didn't falter.

"No need to apologise. It's not a big deal."

"Then why are you grinning like that?"

"It's just... you've never heard what they say about people who pick labels off their beer?"

"What? It's just a form of fidgeting, isn't it?" Tifa blinked a couple of times as she looked at the labels again. Reno couldn't help but chuckle.

"If you haven't heard after all your years in a bar, I ain't tellin' ya now!" He laughed, polishing off the last of his bottle and standing to get another. Tifa quickly got to her feet and waved him back down.

"I'll get these ones. On the condition you tell me what people say about label pickers." She called over her shoulder as she trotted over to the fridge. She had jumped up a little fast and felt her head spin ever so slightly. _What beer number is this? Damn, all I've had is a sandwich. But this stuff tastes so good._ Reno looked over his shoulder into his open kitchen as Tifa bent over to reach the beers at the back of the fridge. With each beer, he was feeling less guilty about enjoying the view. And those jeans were rather snug around her hips. He whipped his head back around as Tifa stood up and wandered back into the livingroom with the beers and sat down. He noticed she sat a little further round the table this time round. He wondered if she was aware she had moved closer to him.

Holding out his hand to offer to open the beer, Reno nodded his head at the table. Tifa shook her head in response and picked up one of her empty bottles. Tilting it against the closed bottle, she popped the cap off in one smooth motion. Reno's eyebrows lifted in surprise as she handed him the open drink. She smiled as she opened her own.

"So. The rumours?" Tifa grinned a little more as she took a swig of her drink. Reno wasn't the only one with hidden bottle-opening talents, it seemed. He blinked at her a few times before shaking his head slightly and grinning in return.

"Well. Keep in mind I didn't make this up. And ya can't hit me when I tell ya."

"Why would I hit you?" Tifa questioned, curiosity getting the better of her now. Reno's grin widened.

"For all I know, it could hit a nerve."

"I doubt that." Tifa snorted as she lifted her bottle to her lips again. She really had to slow down on the drinking.

"Well... They say if you pull labels off your beer bottles, it means you're sexually frustrated." Reno said matter-of-factly, just as Tifa took a mouthful of her drink. "And if ya manage to get them off whole, it means yer gonna get lucky." He finished. Tifa's eyes flashed to the pile of perfectly intact labels on the table and she couldn't help but spit out the mouthful of beer. Reno collapsed into peels of laughter as she coughed and spluttered, frantically scrunching up the discarded labels.

"That is not true!" Tifa squeaked as she stuffed most of the labels into one of the empty bottles. She wiped at her mouth with the sleeve of her polo shirt as Reno almost fell over with laughter, clutching his stomach. She glared at him, but she couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Sorry! I ain't even mad that you just spat beer all over my floor, your face was fuckin' priceless!" Reno laughed, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. Tifa propped her fists onto her hips and pouted at him.

"Well I was gonna apologise and clean it up, but not after that!" She huffed. Reno couldn't help but grin widely. He saw her glaring, but couldn't help but notice her eyes were sparkling with amusement. Along with her flushed cheeks, and her pouted lips which were glistening slightly with drops of beer, Reno couldn't ignore the slight flip of his stomach. _Damn, Tifa looks good with her hair down. And I don't mean without her ponytail._ He mused to himself as Tifa lifted her bottle again. He noticed her shiver slightly, and when he looked past her he noticed the fire was dying down slightly. Putting his drink on the table, he got up and went to throw another log or two on the fire.

Tifa watched him as he walked past her and hunched down to stoke the fire. Her eyes roamed over his back as his white t-shirt pulled taught over his skin as he leaned forward. She has always thought of Reno as scrawny, even more so than Cloud who was mostly lean muscle. But as he prodded at the fire, she saw his lat muscles working under his clothing. She followed the line of his body up and noticed that his arms, while slim, were mostly taught with muscle, his triceps flexing slightly as he twisted the poker in the fire. She found herself staring through half lidded eyes before he shook his head and the red ponytail flashing at the corner of her vision brought her back to the present. Tifa quickly whirled her head back around, the temperature in her cheeks rising. _Oh my god, did I just actually find Reno attractive for a moment? RENO?! I need to lay off the beer._ She thought to herself, squeezing her eyes shut as she took another drink. She opened her eyes and looked at the bottle in her hand before laughing at herself. Reno had finished with the fire and made his way back to the couch, looking at her quizzically. She shook her head and waved her hand. Shrugging, Reno picked his beer back up and drained the rest of it.

"I dunno about you, but I'm startin' to get bored of the beer. I'm gonna get somethin' a bit stronger." He said by way of explanation as he stood up again. Tifa watched him as he wandered back into the kitchen and opened the cupboard above the fridge. she could make out a few different bottles, all filled to varying levels with amber liquid. He picked one out and grabbed two small glasses before heading back to the couch and sitting down. Without looking at her, he pulled the lid off the bottle and poured a small amount into each glass. Reno replaced the lid and pushed one glass across the table to her. Tifa set down her beer and picked up the glass, swishing the liquid inside slowly. she raised it to her nose and instantly recoiled. Whisky. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but after the soft scent of the beer, it had caught her off guard. She looked up at Reno as he lifted his own glass to his lips with a grin.

"Whisky, Reno? Are you trying to get me drunk?" She asked, raising his glass to her nose again. Now that she knew was she was dealing with, she inhaled deeply and noticed a spicy yet peaty scent. She heard Reno chuckle.

"That depends."

"On what?"

"If you're a lightweight or not."

* * *

AN: That is just one of those responses that just oozes the word 'challenge'. It's worked on me a few times! I don't turn down a drinking challenge. It was during one such challenge that the sexual tension label connection was brought to my attention. Anyone else ever heard that one?


	9. The Gloves Are Off (Or It It Just The Whisky Lid?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you do when you have a captive audience consisting of one brutally hot female and a pretty sturdy stock of liquor? If you're Reno, you propose a game of Twenty Questions. With a twist. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Tifa bit her bottom lip, hiding it behind the glass she had lifted to her nose. A flash of competitiveness struck through her and she had to almost physically hold herself back from slamming the drink back and holding it out for a refill. But this was Reno she was drinking with. She wasn't even sure how she'd got to this point so quickly. She felt more relaxed in his presence than she ever thought possible. Maybe it was the lack of the blue suit and the long sleek mag rod that usually accompanied it. But most likely it was the alcohol flowing through her system, making her feel warm and lowering her guard slightly. Either way, she couldn't allow herself to get roped into a drinking contest with Reno. Could she?

Chewing her lip once more, she looked over the rim of her glass. Reno was reclined lazily on the couch, one arm stretched along the back of the headrests and the other holding his glass loosely in his lap. He was watching her carefully, obviously unsure if she would actually drink the whisky he'd given her. She narrowed her eyes slightly and dropped the glass to her mouth, tilting it slightly so the golden fluid sluggishly slid towards her lips. She took a small mouthful and fought to stop a cough and a splutter from escaping her lips as it burned it's way down her throat. She felt the warmth spread out through her chest and she could feel her face and chest flush slightly. It wasn't terrible, just a lot stronger than Tifa had drank in a long time. She took another sip, already used to the burn and able to actually taste it this time round. She slid her tongue over her bottom lip as she set her glass down, her slender fingers still wrapped loosely around the glass.

"It's not bad. I figured you would probably just drink lighter fluid grade stuff." she teased, suddenly aware that Reno was staring at her with a different expression. She slid her index finger up over the rim of the glass and noticed his eyes flick towards her hand just for a moment before he looked back into her eyes. A slow smirk spread across his lips as he lifted his own glass.

"Why would you think that? We weren't exactly poor back in the day so I learned to appreciate good whisky."Reno explained as he took a sip. His expression didn't change even a bit. Tifa mirrored him and did her best not to wrinkle her nose as she took a slightly bigger mouthful. "This isn't the best stuff I have, but it's good to enjoy any old day of the week. I ain't wastin' the really fuckin' good stuff on you unless I know you can handle it, Lockhart." He teased, his ever present grin widening even more. Tifa barked out a laugh.

"Oh please, Red. You don't think I could handle it? I wouldn't want to show you up at your own game, mind you." She retorted. The sensible part of her brain, the little voice that was screaming ' _What are you doing?!'_ was getting quieter and quieter. She allowed a smirk of her own to creep across her lips as she tilted her glass back and finished off the rest of her drink, holding it out for a top up when she was done. Reno let out a burst of laughter as he reached for the whisky bottle and popped the top off.

"Damn! Who knew you actually had a sense of adventure, Lockhart. You should drink all the time!"

"Needs must when the company is sub par."

"Oh, burn! You're askin' for it now." Reno laughed again as he filled both glasses a little fuller this time. This night was rapidly getting interesting, and he wasn't about to let it slow down now. If he'd known that all it would take to see this side of Tifa was a few beers and a challenge, he would have done it years ago. He handed her glass back to her and clinked his own glass off hers gently before taking a long drink. She tried to match him and couldn't hold back a cough as the liquid seemed to set her chest on fire. She put the glass down on the table and shifted slightly. The blood splatter on her jeans had started drying out and it was beginning to get uncomfortable. She tried to move subtly. The last thing she needed was him suggesting for her to remove any items of clothing! Crossing her legs, she leaned back on her hands and tilted her head slightly.

"Joking aside, you're actually not terrible company. Although that may be the alcohol talking."

"Why, thank you." Reno swept his arm across his stomach and did a mock bow. Tifa couldn't help but laugh. "Yer not too bad yourself when ya take the stick out yer ass."

"Hey!" Tifa started to protest as Reno laughed again.

"I'm kiddin'! Geez, don't be so sensitive." He took another big gulp of his drink as she mock glared at him. "So. You don't wanna 'drink me under the table'-" he made quotation marks with his fingers in the air "-so what do you suggest we do with the rest of the evenin'? It's still early doors and I don't have a tv for entertainment."

"I don't care how much you think I've had to drink Reno, we are not-" Tifa sat bolt upright, pointing at him as she glared at him, the mischief in her eyes gone. Reno raised his hands in defense.

"Whoa, whoa! Geez, always with the filthy accusations! I meant we might as well play a drinkin' game. We're already drinking, so might as well make it interesting." He explained quickly, pushing himself back in the couch lest she swing for him. _God, not that I'd say no if she did fling herself at me, but I haven't even switched on the charm. She keeps jumping to the wrong conclusions. I'm beginning to think SHE'S the one who wants to. Maybe that label thing isn't far wrong at all._ He thought to himself, trying to stop the grin spreading across his face as she still glared at him with fire in her eyes. At his suggestion however, she softened slightly.

"Oh. I thought... Urm, yeah. Why not. What do you suggest? And don't dare suggest anything that involves removing clothing." She quickly added as he opened his mouth. Reno clamped his mouth shut audibly and his lips quirked up at one side.

"Damn, no clothing removal. You're no fun." He raised his hands again in defense, laughing as she flung a rolled up label at his head. "Heh, only kidding. Hmm... Oh, I got it!" He leaned forward on his knees as he grabbed for the whisky bottle. "You know how to play 20 questions?"

"Of course I do! I'm not a total idiot."

"Great. Well, here's the drinkin' game version. We take turns askin' the questions. If you don't wanna answer the question, you gotta take a drink. No little sip either. And if you answer it truthfully, the person who asked the question takes a drink. Sound fair?"

"How will I know if you're answering the questions truthfully?"Tifa raised an eyebrow, a small smile appearing on her lips as Reno's mouth fell open, his hand clutching at his heart dramatically as if mortally wounded.

"Wait, are you suggestin' I'm untrustworthy? I am hurt! Shocked and appalled and HURT!" He raised the back of his free hand to his forehead, tilting his head back as he whined. Tifa couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay okay. Cut the dramatics. We'll both be honest." She raised a single finger as her eyes gleamed. Reno sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees as a grin spread across his face. In that moment, Tifa realised she didn't often see Reno without some sort of smile on his face. She wondered how he was able to stay upbeat through everything he'd seen and done over the years as a ShinRa employee. _I guess now's the time to find out._

"So. Ladies first." Reno raised his glass and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Tifa looked at her glass and ran her finger around the rim, letting the soft sound that resonated out fill the silence while she thought of a question. She didn't wanna start off too deep. Besides, he might take that as a hint to ask equally prying questions about her. Settling on what she thought was an obvious one, she lifted her head to look at him. He was still leaning forward expectantly.

"Okay. Starting off with a simple one. How long have you lived here?"

"Six months. Give or take a few days." Reno answered easily as Tifa took a sip of her drink. "My turn. What's your magic number?"

"What?!" Tifa spluttered. She'd barely managed to swallow her drink.

"Y'know. How may guys you slept with? Or girls?" Reno's grin widened and he waggled his eyebrows again. Tifa glared at him.

"Really, Reno? That's your first question?"

"Hey, you don't hafta answer. You could just take another big drink if you're feeling chicken." Reno added, hoping he would encourage her to answer. He saw her bristle. It worked.

"Five."

"Five! Check you out Lockhart, you heartbreaker." He chuckled as he tossed back some of his drink. She continued to glare at him.

"That was spread over a large period of time. I'm not the kind of girl who-"

"Hey, hey, I don't judge. How many people a woman sleeps with is her business. We all got needs, ya know?" Reno raised his hands. Tifa relaxed slightly.

"Hmph. My turn. What's with the tattoos on your cheeks?"

"Eh. They're covering a set of scars. Broken bottle. Some thug tried to take my eyes out. Not the most fun I've ever had in the alley behind a bar." He grinned. Tifa rolled her eyes. She had a feeling he was going to turn all of his answers into suggestive ones if he could help it. Still, she was curious.

"I didn't know they could tattoo over scar tissue?"

"Depends on the scar. I didn't want anythin' too complicated, just somethin' to even out the colour. Figured it would work. And that counts as two questions."

"Hey! That's not fair! I was merely expanding on my first question!"

"No cheatin', Lockhart." He grinned as she grumbled and took two drinks from her glass. She was gonna get him back for that one. "Now I get two. Was one of those five a certain chocobo headed idiot?"

Tifa blinked for a moment before looking down at the floor, toying with the top of her glass again. Reno raised an eyebrow and leant forward a bit more.

"Yes." She answered curtly. Reno let out a long, low whistle.

"Didn't know old Cloudy-boy had it in him. Was he any good?" He took a long drink from his glass she Tifa's head snapped up, her eyes wide.

"What? Why would you ask something like that?"

"Hey, I'm curious. He's always so serious and moody, I figure he'd probably be pretty boring in the sack." He stated with a shrug. Tifa spluttered.

"That's really none of your business!" She flared. Reno shrugged again.

"Fine. Take a forfeit drink then."

"Fine. "Tifa fumed as she raised the glass to her lips. Noticing hers was nearly empty, Reno popped the lid off the bottle and filled them both up. Tifa noted that the glasses were getting filled a little more every time. Reno leaned back into the couch with a lopsided grin.

"Your turn."

"Ugh. Why did I agree to this game with you. Fine. Is that your natural hair colour?"

"Of course. I can prove it if ya want." Reno tugged at the waistband of his sweatpants suggestively. Tifa wrinkled her nose in disgust, but he didn't fail to notice her eyes flicked to his crotch for a second before she turned away, her cheeks tinted pink. He shifted himself slightly on the couch and grinned widely.

"No thank you. I just wondered because it's almost unrealistically vibrant."

"Well, I assure ya, I don't put any weird shit on my head. Why the hell would I dye my hair?"

"Maybe you like the attention it brings. And that was a question."

"Hey!" Reno cried out, noticing a sly grin creep across Tifa's face. He couldn't help but laugh. "Touché, Lockhart. We both gotta drink." He raised his glass towards her before he took a long drink. Tifa done the same.

"Okay. Might as well play you at your own game. What's YOUR magic number?"

"Fifty-nine."

"Fifty-nine?! That's so many for someone who's only... wait, what age are you?" Tifa spluttered, realising too late she'd asked another question. She cursed and took two drinks, knowing Reno would answer the second one with no hesitation either. Reno laughed loudly.

"You suck at this game, yo! And yeah, fifty-nine. At least I'm not at the stage where I've forgotten how many people I've slept with. And I'm 27."

"Oh."

"My turn. You asked one of my questions, so I'm gonna do the same. Got any tattoos?"

"Yes." Tifa answered quickly. Reno's eyebrows shot up.

"You do! Holy shit, Lockhart! I thought for sure you were more square than that! What is it and where is it?" He leaned forward eagerly, practically balancing on the edge of the couch. Tifa laughed and leaned across the table.

"That's another two questions, Red. You sure you want me to answer them?" She grinned, her voice coming out like a soft purr. Reno leaned forward even more if it was possible and nodded very slowly. Holding his drink up ready to take three very big gulps if Tifa actually answered him. She laughed slightly before speaking.

"Alright. It's a little cliché, but I have a Phoenix tattoo. And like yours, it was for... scar covering purposes. Well, more like distracting the eye from it." Tifa's voice softened as she lifted a hand to her chest absent-mindedly. Reno's eyes flicked to her hand and he vaguely remembered something from Tifa's files way back when. Something about Nibelheim and an incident that almost killed her. Reno put two and two together. He'd never really thought about it before. He wasn't really interested in knowing more about Tifa than he had to back then. He put his drink down gently on the table, his hand still curled around it.

"Sephiroth?"

"Yeah. I got it done after the fight with the triplets. Figured I had made it through enough hardships by then to treat myself to something just for me. I hated looking at it. It reminded me of... everything. So I had the Phoenix done mostly to take the attention away from it. And to remind me that I came out of what happened a stronger person." Tifa's voice was almost a whisper now. Reno swallowed hard. He had lost his parents too, but that had been their own doing. They hadn't been murdered in cold blood. Clearing his throat, he sat back in the couch, lifting his glass and taking a long drink. Tifa looked up at him and he noticed her eyes shining with moisture. _Aw hell no. We can't be at the drunk-crying-chick stage of the night yet!_ Tipping back the remainder of his glass, he slammed it down on the table and reach for the bottle. He was no good at comforting crying women.

"Fair doos, Lockhart. Three drinks for me. Let's get this game back on track. I know I asked my questions already, but I gotta get this one out."

"What is it?" Tifa stared at him unblinking, willing the tears in her eyes not to fall. She raised an eyebrow as Reno leaned right forward again and a large grin spread across his face.

"Can I see it?

_SLAP!_

* * *

AN: This is just nothing but blatant flirting. I can't help myself. I had cut this chapter off a lot earlier, when the game was just about to start, but I figured I should really make the chapters a bit longer so here you are. A mega chapter! I enjoy Reno being a bit of a pervert, although I reckon he's probably quite respectful of people's choices when it comes to sex. Heh.


	10. It Doesn't Have To Be Sexual (It's Just More Fun If It Is)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno manages to get Tifa out of her jeans with minimal effort. Not like that, you pervert. Well, not yet anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Reno clutched his reddening cheek, his ears ringing. He knew he was being forward by asking but he didn't think she'd actually hit him! He tilted his head to look at Tifa. The tears were gone now, and in their place was a look of pure rage. _At least she ain't about to cry anymore._

"No you cannot see it! I can't believe you'd even suggest that!"

"Well, you can see mine so it's only fair. Hey, I'm joking, yo!" Reno quickly cut in, throwing himself back on the couch as Tifa lifted her hand to slap him again. He couldn't help but laugh, which only seemed to anger her more. "Sorry, sorry! Just wanted to pull you outta the dark place you seemed to be headin'." He offered by way of explanation. Tifa settled herself back down and her expression softened slightly, though he could still see she was annoyed at him. "And to be fair, I've never seen the scar either so I didn't know how close it was to your... well..." Reno trailed off and nodded towards her chest. Tifa groaned in disgust.

"It's close enough that you have no chance of ever, ever seeing it. Ever."

"Duly noted." Reno reached to fill his glass back up and took a big swig. As he settled the glass back into his lap, he felt his head swim a little. How many questions had they asked? And how many drinks? He looked at Tifa again and noticed her cheeks were almost a permanent blush. Thank god he wasn't the only one feeling the effects of the booze. He nodded in her direction.

"Three questions for you, Lockhart."

"Fine. You're lucky I'm even still sitting here." She added with a glare. Reno just grinned in return. She huffed and looked down at her glass, aware of how warm her face felt. Just how many of these had she had? "Hmph. Okay, who was your first love?" She asked, her eyes still on her glass. After a few moments, Tifa realised he hadn't answered yet. She lifted her head to look at him and her eyes widened slightly. Reno looked... thoughtful? Dreamy? A little upset? She couldn't quite put her finger on what he was feeling. He seemed to notice her staring and he shook his head to clear it.

"Amanda Dixon. I was 14. Thought we were gonna be together forever." He scoffed. "That usual kid shit that you believe when you're young."

"What happened?"

"She left me, yo. She'd been cheatin' on me for half the relationship. You can guess how that went when I found out."

"You killed her?!" Tifa gasped suddenly. Reno looked at her with horror.

"What? No, I didn't kill her! Holy shit, Lockhart, it was just heartbreak! You think I'd kill someone at 14 for something as simple as that?" He asked incredulously. He couldn't believe she'd jumped to that conclusion so quickly.

"I didn't... I don't know. Sorry. I guess I didn't know how long you'd actually been a Turk for."

"Yeah, well. We didn't kill folk for no reason. And certainly not for personal reasons. It was a job, not an excuse to take out my vengeance on people who've hurt me." He sniffed and closed his eyes, taking a drink of his whisky even though he had answered her questions. Opening one eye slightly, he noticed Tifa had the decency to look embarrassed as she took three drinks herself. She also seemed to be fidgeting quite a lot. He wondered if the label picking really was a nervous habit for her. "You okay over there? Ya look like you've got ants in your pants."

"It's my jeans. The blood has dried in and it's suuuper uncomfortable." Tifa explained, her voice slurring ever so slightly as she gestured at her legs. Reno stood up off the couch and leaned over the table to look, resting his hands on the table to steady his balance.

"Why didn't ya say so?" He grumbled, putting his glass down and striding into his bedroom, wobbling slightly. Tifa stared at the door blinking in confusion until he returned with a pair of black sweatpants identical to the ones he was wearing. He tossed them at Tifa as he made his way back to the couch. She caught them and looked at them before staring back at him blankly, still blinking. Reno grinned a little.

"Don't worry, they're clean. Hop into the spare room and get changed." He offered as he picked his drink back up. Tifa stood up slowly, the alcohol making her sway slightly. Clutching the sweatpants, she padded into the spare room and closed the door over behind her, leaving it slightly ajar as she stepped behind it so she was hidden from view in the dark room. Silently, she stripped off her jeans, wrinkling her nose slightly as they crunched when she dropped them on the floor. She almost felt bad for just assuming Reno would expect her to strip off in front of him. Instead, he'd offered her his clothes without even a second thought. Tifa steadied herself on the door frame as she attempted to get her legs into the clothing. _Maybe he's not a complete asshole all the time. Although he has been super suggestive with his answers and questions._ She frowned as she hopped precariously as she pulled the sweatpants over her other leg and up over her hips. _But then again, I haven't exactly stopped the game or gone to bed._ She mused as she pulled on the drawstrings at her narrow waist, tying it in a bow to stop them from sliding down. Reno wasn't exactly big, but he obviously wore his clothing loose. As a result, the waistband slung low on Tifa's hips, even with the string tied.

She pulled the door back open and teetered back into the livingroom. She was too busy concentrating on her balance and making her way back to her drink to notice Reno's gaze. The change from skin tight jeans to loose and slightly tatty sweatpants shouldn't have made Tifa even more attractive, but Reno couldn't help but stare at her as she navigated her way around the table to grab her drink. Instead of sitting back on the floor, she headed over to the couch and sat down on the soft cushions at the other end from him, pushing the sleeves of her sweater up to her elbows before she reached for a cushion. Despite having obviously tied the waist as tight as she could, the waistband shifted on her hips as she moved, and Reno noticed a small flash of skin as she sat back into the cushions, tucking her legs up under herself. A warmth that had nothing to do with the whisky pooled in Reno's groin. _God damn. This whisky must be some sort of aphrodisiac or somethin'. Getting turned on by sweatpants._

Shifting himself on the couch and bending one leg so his ankle rested on the opposite knee, he attempted to sit in a way that would disguise any possible stirrings down below as Tifa picked her glass back up and looked at him expectantly, her eyes a little glazed from the alcohol but by no means dulled. He started back at her for a few moments before he saw her smiling.

"Reno?"

"Uh... yeah?"

"It's your turn."

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, right..." Reno felt a flush creep up his neck. He was glad the light in the room was minimal and hoped she wouldn't notice. It wasn't like him to be getting so flustered. He was so used to being the one in control in situations like this. He cleared his throat and picked absent-mindedly at a piece of fluff on his t-shirt. "Erm... right. Questions." Tifa giggled slightly at him and he straightened himself up.

"You okay there, Reno?"

"Peachy. What age were you when you lost your virginity?"

"Back to the sex questions already." Tifa rolled her eyes, but the smile stayed on her face. "I was 16. It was not too long after... the incident." She squirmed slightly in her seat, pulling her legs a little closer. Reno grinned wide.

"That young, huh?

"It wasn't that young! And he was a friend, I trusted him and felt safe with him. What age were you?"

"Twelve."

"Twelve!" Tifa spluttered. She never failed to be surprised his cavalier Reno was with discussing things like this. "You were still a kid!"

"Hey, didn't mean I didn't know what I was doin', yo." Reno grinned widely as he took a sip of his drink. "Never had any complaints from any of the people I've slept with, for that matter."

"Too much information." Tifa sniffed, taking a sip of her own drink. Reno let out a bark of laughter. "Wait, I noticed you said 'people'. You've said that a few times now."

"What's yer point?"

"Well, you didn't specifically say 'women. Are you...?" Tifa trailed off, her eyes flicking up to meet his. The blues and greens in his eyes seemed to flash with amusement.

"I don't put a label on it. If someone revs my engine, great. Don't matter about gender." He stated in a manner-of-fact tone with a shrug, his grin widening as Tifa's eyes did.

"Oh! I had no idea."

"Not exactly somethin' I feel the need ta shout about. It was well known enough in the slums, though." Reno's eyes twinkled as Tifa shifted again, still watching him as she settled her glass in her lap. "You sure get uncomfortable talkin' about sex, huh?"

"I'm not a prude! I just... it's not something I talk about out loud a lot." She squirmed, ducking her head slightly. Tifa had never really had any girlfriends growing up, no one to discuss this stuff with. She had Aeris for a while, but after she died Tifa didn't really gel with anyone else. And Yuffie was far too young for her to feel comfortable to talk about her sex life with.

"Well, ya should. It's fun! Though I maybe share a bit too much." Reno laughed. "Rude used to just listen, and Tseng just shook his head at me whenever I got drunk and started sharing war stories. And 'Lena would just squeak and turn red." his grin widened as he reminisced. He tilted his head toward Tifa. "A bit like yourself."

"I can hold my own just fine, thank you." Tifa sniffed, turning her nose up in the air. Reno let out another bark of laughter and Tifa joined him, feeling strangely relaxed.

"I never found out who your first love was." Reno pointed out, tilting his glass toward her. Tifa looked thoughtful for a moment before a small smile appeared on her face.

"I guess it was Cloud. I didn't really realise until I saw him again in Midgar. I was really upset when he left to join SOLDIER. Guess I just fell for him." She looked up as Reno made a gagging noise, his eyes shining with mischief as he made the motion of sticking his finger back into his throat. Tifa picked up one of the cushions beside her and tossed it at him. It hit him on the side of the head with a muffled thump and Tifa burst out laughing. "Hey, you asked!"

"Yeah, but c'mon, I didn't need detail about your lovey-dovey feelings for Chocobo Head! You tryin' ta make me sick?" He drawled as he avoided a second cushion coming his way. He raised his finger in mocking menace. "And stop throwing those at me. You don't wanna start a pillow fight ya can't win, yo." Tifa grinned widely but slowly put down the third cushion she had a hold of, her eyes locked on his. They both stared at each other for what seemed like ages, a fire blazing in both their eyes, their wide grins fading to small smiles. Blinking furiously, Tifa suddenly looked away as she remembered where she was and who she was with.

 _Geez, you could cut the sexual tension with a knife right now._ Reno thought to himself with a self satisfied smirk. _It's been a while since I've felt like this with someone and haven't made an attempt to jump their bones._ His train of though trailed off and he noticed the fire was getting low. Putting his glass down on the table, he got up to add more logs to the fire. The pile was getting smaller, and he couldn't really be bothered heading to the garage to grab more. _If it gets much colder, we'll just have to snuggle up._ He thought with a grin, casting a look back over his shoulder at the brunette beauty on his couch.

_And wouldn't that be a fine thing._

* * *

AN: Another mega chapter for you! Phew. The sexual tension is vamping up now. Where is this gonna lead? Dun dun duuuun!

Also, the title of this chapter is basically my catchphrase whenever we play Never Have I Ever. Cause let's face it, it's true!

If you're reading this, please leave me a comment to let me know if you're enjoying it! I promise I acknowledge and respond to everything who takes the time to drop me a line!


	11. Oooo, Shiny!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Generally, flashing at women to get their attention is frowned upon. But when it's little bits of metal you're flashing, curiosity sometimes wins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Tifa watched Reno as he got up, albeit a little unsteadily on his feet, and went to tend to the fire. She couldn't take her eyes off him as she thought back over the past few minutes. She had found herself staring into his eyes, and he was returning her gaze steadily. She had felt her stomach flutter slightly just before she broke eye contact and her lips parted as she let go of a breath she didn't she was holding. _This whisky is really doing a number on me if I'm having moments like this with Reno of all people. Not that he's unattractive or anything..._ Tifa's thoughts trailed off as she watched him. His ever messy red hair fell in front of his eyes as he leaned over the fire, lacking his goggles to hold the loose strands back. she hadn't even noticed he was missing them until now. His bright eyes stared ahead with purpose, settled above those striking red tattoos that Tifa now knew hid the evidence of a bar fight. She continued to look at his face, noticing he had a surprisingly straight nose for someone who got in so many fights. Maybe he was always quick to heal. _Or maybe he's so good that he doesn't get hit often._

Tifa shook off the compliment in her head before continue her inspections of the ex-Turks' features. He chewed on his bottom lip slightly as he stoked the fire, obviously trying to concentrate through the alcohol-fueled haze. She noted that they shared that trait, at least. One thing in common. She also noticed that he only had one earlobe pierced. She reached for her own earrings, gently fingering the small droplets that had been a gift from her mother. Smiling fondly, she didn't notice Reno had made his way back to the couch until he flopped down beside her, snapping her back to reality. Lifting the bottle off the table, he motioned to her glass.

"Refill?" He offered, popping the top off the bottle. Tifa nodded and held out her glass. She noticed he leaned forward a little more than necessary, placing one hand on the cushion between them as he filled her glass up. He gave her a small smile as he settled back and filled up his own glass. Tifa smiled back as she took a sip. The whisky no longer burned. She also noticed the bottle was well on it's way to being empty. It had been two thirds full when they started.

"This stuff is actually really nice, once you get used to it." Tifa commented, realisinh she was actually enjoying it now.

"Yep. I've definitely had worse. This is my go to when I fancy something other than beer or vodka but don't wanna frighten my bank account too badly. Not as many bars sell Talisker though."

"Hmm. Guess not." Tifa mused, wondering if she had any in her own bar. She made a mental note to order some in. "So, whose turn is it?"

"Yours. I got that sickeningly sweet answer last, remember?"

"Har har. Ok. Hmm..." Tifa settled back onto the couch, hugging a cushion to her stomach as she relaxed. "I noticed you only have one ear pierced." She started, thinking to herself that Cloud only had one done too. But only one of his ears was ever visible thanks to his asymmetrical hair style. "Any reason why only one?"

"Eh. Only had one earring to hand when I pierced it."

"You pierced it yourself?"

"Yeah. I was in a couple of gangs in the slums and it was just the done thing. It's the only one I did myself, though." He chuckled, and Tifa couldn't help but feel he was hinting at something.

"You have other piercings?"

"Yeah. And isn't that like three questions?" He pointed out with a grin. Tifa lifted her glass but continued to stare at him with narrowed eyes. He wondered if she would be brave enough to ask with the help of dutch courage.

"We're not following the rules anymore."

"Does that just apply to the game?"

"Reno." she said his name like she was scolding him as he grinned suggestively. He laughed slightly.

"Not even sorry."

"Yeah, well. But you're lucky I'm running out of cushions to fling." She retorted as she drank. Reno wondered if that pillow fight wasn't completely off the cards yet. "So I take it you aren't gonna share any more?"

"Share what?"

"What other piercings you have."

"You sure you wanna know?" Reno waggled his eyebrows and Tifa's eyes stared at his chest, assuming he meant he had a nipple piercing. He noticed and shook his head, making motions with his hand to imply he meant further down. Tifa's eyes shot open,

"You are kidding!"

"Why would I lie?"

"You have not got a piercing... down there!"

"You really wanna encourage me to get it out to prove it?"

"No!" Tifa visibly recoiled and Reno laughed. He didn't think he was gonna grow tired of getting that reaction from her. "I just... why would you?"

"Friction."

"Friction?!"

That did it. Her reaction tipped him over the edge and Reno fell over on the couch, full on hysterics overcoming him. Tifa was bright red as she crossed her arms and huffed, staring across the room in the opposite direction of the redhead who was currently wheezing as he attempted to draw breath. Throwing a glance back over at him, she noticed he was now inaudible, his body vibrating with laughter as he tried to keep a hold of the glass in his hand and hold his aching sides at the same time. A large grin broke out across Tifa's lips despite herself. "It's not that funny, Reno!" she said, her own voice tinged with laughter now. The amount of alcohol they had drank was definitely making everything funnier than it should have been. Reno simply buried his face into the couch cushions, his arm flailing helplessly as if to wave her away as he continued to shake. A small giggle escaped from Tifa, which slowly turned into full on laughter. What was it about seeing other people helpless with laughter that started off yet more hysterics? Tifa managed to put her drink down on the table as her sides started to ache. She clutched at the cushion across her lap, tears now forming in her eyes. Reno had rolled onto his back, his own eyes streaming as he clutched his stomach, his glass forgotten on the floor.

"Oh god... stop it! I-it hurts!" Reno managed to choke out in between breaths as he slowly regained control of himself. Tifa was wiping at her eyes with her fingers as he sat up, crushing the heels of his hands into his own eyes. "Aw fuck, Tifa. That was too funny, yo." He shifted so he was leaning back into the deep corner of the couch and she scoffed at him, her eyes still sparkling.

"Yeah, yeah. Even from you, that wasn't what I expected." She picked up her glass and stretched out along the couch, her legs aching slightly from being curled underneath her for too long. She barely noticed as Reno mirrored her, stretching out his own long legs towards her so that their ankles were side by side. He was surprised when she didn't withdraw her legs, even as he gave her a gentle nudge with his feet. Contrary to what he expected, she actually nudged him back playfully as she took a drink.

"To expand slightly on that, I also had more piercings along the top of my ear, but they got bashed off my goggles all the time so I took them out. So all I've got left is the one ear lobe, that OTHER one, and this." Reno grinned before sticking his tongue out at her. Tifa was about to stick her tongue back out at him when she noticed the reflection off the fire glinting off a small metal ball in the centre of his tongue. Forgetting herself, Tifa scrambled to her hands and knees and leaned across the couch.

"You got your tongue pierced! When?"

"When I was on the Western Continent. I met a chick in a bar who was pierced more than me and Rude put together. She suggested we go get piercings done, and promised to kiss it better after. You can guess what two I got done then." Reno grinned widely as Tifa's face flushed so much, he could see her ears going red. He managed to hold back a laugh as she leaned forward a little more, peering into his mouth. He stuck his tongue out at her again and she squeaked before giggling at herself.

"That's kinda disgusting."

"Hey, c'mon!"

"I mean doing THAT just after having them done. Surely that's unhygenic?"

"Dunno. Didn't care. Probably wasn't suppose to get them done after drinking too."

"Such a rebel." Tifa slurred slightly as she stared at the little metallic sphere bobbing about in his mouth. Now that he'd pointed it out, it was so obvious. "Did you even want them done?"

"I got them done to see if she was serious. She was, by the way." He said nonchalantly. Tifa rolled her eyes. "But afterwards, I found they were quite the conversation starter. And they came in useful besides."

"Hmm.." Tifa couldn't stop the low thoughtful hum that stirred in her throat before she suddenly became aware of how she was sitting. She was leaning across Reno's legs, one hand steadying herself on the back of the couch and the other lifted almost as if she was going to touch the piercing. _When did I put my drink down?_ She quickly spun her head around, looking for her glass. The subsequent head rush almost knocked her over and she raised a hand to her head.

"You ok there, Lockhart?"

"Wha? Oh, yeah." Tifa nodded slowly and turned to look at him, another small squeak bursting from her lips. Reno had leaned forward with a face that looked remarkably like concern she she'd grabbed her head. Tifa froze, noticing how close his face was to hers. His turquoise eyes seemed to shine, even in the dull room. She gulped and continued to stare at him, almost scared to move.

_Uh oh._

* * *

AN: This is a safety notice. Do not get your tongue pierced after drinking alcohol. Or your genitals if you're a guy. Take it from someone who was a piercer for 8 years, that shit bleeds and it does NOT stop.

Also, fun fact. This is actually the scene that made me wanna write this fic. I noticed our Reno sticks out his tongue out a lot and I figure he'd be the type to probably have it done to have another conversation starter with da ladiez. But then I figured someone who has an EMR for a weapon probably doesn't want any more metal in his body than necessary. But then I thought, well what if he ever retired? And that, dear readers, is where all this nonsense sparked from.

This chapter marks me reaching 20,000 words on this fic! That does include my rambling in the notes mind you, so maybe I should count it from the next chapter? Eh, who cares! Yay either way! I've also almost reached 100 visitors over on FF.net! Thank you guys so much for reading the mess or words that tumbles out of my head through my fingers haha. I've also almost finished actually writing this fic! Currently working on Chapter 23 and I can already see me writing a sequel with a bit more meat to the story. I have also written a lil bit of lemon for this story but I dunno whether or not to publish it! I'll get the opinion of you lovely readers as we get closer to that point :)


	12. Chicks Dig Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The majority of people definitely get more touchy feely when drunk. Tifa is no exception.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

_Uh oh._

A warning bell sounded dimly in the recesses of Reno's brain. As usual, he ignored it. When Tifa had grabbed her head, he thought she was going to pass out. Without even thinking, he had sat up quickly, ready to catch her if she fell. The fast movement had caused his own head to swim and he gripped the back of the couch to steady himself. _Brilliant, who's gonna help if you both pass out drunk and crack your heads on the way down? Idiot._ He thought, closing his eyes for a moment to stave off the dizziness. when he opened them again, he became almost painfully aware of how close he'd moved towards her. He felt his breath hitch in his throat as she turned her head to look at him, his eyes meeting hers. They were impossibly large, the rich chocolate almost swirling with the crimson flecks around her pupils. _Maybe it's just the alcohol making them swirl._ Reno drunkenly chuckled inwardly. He was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard a whoosh of breath leave Tifa's mouth, and his eyes moved down to the source of the sound. Her lips were slightly parted, and he noticed her bottom lip was a little red from her biting on it. _How would it look if I was one the one biting on it?_ Reno had barely the time to mentally scold himself as Tifa spoke.

"Your eyes glow."

"What?" Reno blinked a few times and looked back up at her eyes, his mind yanked back from the gutter it had been careering towards.

"Your eyes. They glow. Almost like there's Mako in there." She almost whispered, still staring right at him. The alcohol had made her brave, and he squirmed a little under her gaze.

"Eh. That's because there is." He answered, causing her to gasp.

"You're Mako enhanced? Why?"

"It's not necessary for Turks. It was more to help with healing..." Reno drifting off. He shifted back slightly and lifted the end of the loose white t-shirt he was wearing. Tifa didn't have time to blush before she noticed a large, ragged scar that started at his right hip bone and trailed all the way across his torso, stopping just below his left nipple. Tifa covered her mouth with her hand.

"How?"

"You guys."

"What?" Tifa stared at him in shock, her mouth hanging open. Reno shrugged.

"The fight at the pillar. You guys really did a number on me. Cloud managed to slice me open, and when I jumped to the chopper, it aggravated it ever so slightly." Reno looked down at himself, chuckling slightly. "Nearly didn't make it. Submersion in a Mako tube was the only option to stop me from dying. Not that I didn't deserve to after... that." His eyes darkened slightly as he looked back up at Tifa, half expecting her to go on a rant that he DID deserve to die. He was surprised to see that she was still fixated on his scar. He froze as she reached forward tentatively, almost as if she was going to touch him. Reno couldn't decide if he was concerned or slightly aroused at the concern on her face. He cleared his throat and she snapped her eyes back up to meet his. You're not the only one of us who nearly got sliced in two by a ridiculously large sword." He grinned, attempting to lighten the mood. Tifa's eyes dropped back to his torso.

"It looks almost like it still hurts..." She commented, noticing the scar was still puckered and pink on his pale skin. Her scar was reasonably flat compared to his. She could barely resist the urge to touch it to see how it felt.

"It doesn't. And anyway, chicks dig scars." He shrugged again and smiled slightly. _Including you, it seems._ "Touch it if you want. I assure you I won't scream." He couldn't help the wicked grin that spread across his face. Tifa was too busy staring and weighing up how much she wanted to see how it felt. Reno was about to let go of his t-shirt and let it drop back down when Tifa extended her hand, her slender fingers brushing gently against the part on his hip. Reno twitched and she drew her hand back. He cursed himself. "Sorry. Ticklish." He said by way of explanation.

"Sorry." Tifa breathed, surprising even herself as she reached out again and pressed on the scar a little more firmly this time. Reno noticed even though her cheeks were flushed, her hands were cool to the touch and he had to bite his lip to stop a sigh escaping his lips. The pads of her fingers and the tops of her palms were slightly calloused, something he never really considered before seeing as she fought with her fists. The roughness didn't put him off however, instead he found the gentle friction a bit of a turn on and a small shiver ran across his skin. Tifa gently traced the scar upwards and Reno had to used all his willpower to stay still. His skin tingled where he fingers had been. The alcohol hadn't numbed him that much, apparently. And it certainly didn't help when she drew her bottom lip between her teeth as she focused on him, her fingers reaching the top of the scar. _This. Is. Torture._ Reno groaned to himself as he focused completely on trying to relax, his eyes moving to watch her hand. _If she follows that scar back down, it's gonna take a miracle for me to control myself._

When she got to the end, she stopped, her hand still resting on his stomach and her head still down.

"There was a time where I would have gotten pleasure from knowing we did this to you." she spoke softly. Reno tilted his head as he watched her.

"And now?"

"I don't feel sorry for you." she said rather abruptly. Reno blinked a few times. "But I'm not glad of it either. It was war. We were both responsible for so many deaths. I guess our scars are a reminder of that."

"I guess. But..."

"What?" Tifa lifted her head to look at him. Her hand didn't move however.

"I'm... well, I'm sorry. For what happened. Your bar, your friends..." he trailed off. Tifa shook her head, her hair whipping around her. Reno bite his lip again as some of the fine strands fell around her and tickled his stomach when she leaned over him. Surely she was teasing him on purpose? It was just getting ridiculous now. He felt a twinge between his legs and hoped to god there wasn't visible evidence.

"Don't. It's done." She replied, looking back up at him with a small smile. Reno couldn't help but smile back even as she seemed to realise what she was doing. She looked down at her hand and suddenly could barely feel the scar. Instead, she noticed taught muscles rippling with each slightly shallow breath under surprisingly soft skin. She could feel his heart beat, and couldn't help but notice it was a little fast. She quickly drew her hand back, feeling like blushing was as regular as breathing for her since she ran into Reno. He simply chuckled softly and let go of his t-shirt, sitting back up a bit straighter which in turn brought their faces a little closer together again. Tifa sat back on her heels, widening the distance slightly. She couldn't help but notice the way his tshirt had fallen back down had still left a little bit of skin on show and it was harder than she'd like to admit not to pay attention to it,

"Thought for a minute there ya weren't gonna let go of me." Reno teased. Tifa snapped out of her haze and narrowed her eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself, Reno."

"Hey, I'm jus' sayin, yo. Almost glad you did when you did." He grinned, the teasing tone still very much present in his voice. Tifa raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"C'mon, Tifa. You're not stupid." He quipped as he leaned over the edge of the couch to pick his glass back up. He took a long drink before he continued. "A beautiful girl like you with her hands on me after a night of drinkin'? There's generally only one way I want that to end."

"What? I wasn't..." Tifa stared at him as he drained the rest of his drink. He looked at her with a lopsided grin.

"Yeah, I know you weren't. But it's easier said than done trying not to react to it."

"I don't understand?" Tifa questioned. Reno nodded downwards suggestively and she gasped. "Really? Because of me?"

"I'm not at full mast or anythin'," Reno couldn't help but laugh as she scrunched up her nose at him "But you're pretty fuckin' hot and you were strokin' me."

"I was not stroking!"

"Well, it sounds better than fingering."

"That's disgusting!" Tifa exclaimed, at the same as she burst out laughing despite herself. Reno grinned again.

"So my language is disgusting, like my piercing is? Any other insults ya wanna fling my way?" He leaned forward, laughing in surprise as Tifa suddenly slapped him on the arm, laughing along with him as he grabbed his arm in mock pain. This was not like the ear-ringing slap she'd given him earlier. This was the kind of slap little girls gave to little boys in the playground. Reno's grin nearly reached his ears. "And anyways, I told ya. Not disgusting. Useful."

"Yeah, yeah. If you were such a stud, you wouldn't need the help." She fired back. Reno narrowed his eyes, his smile still present.

"Nothing wrong with improvin' your game, even if your game is top notch like mine."

"Oh, please. I doubt a tiny thing like that makes much of a difference." The words were out before Tifa could stop herself. _Oh god. That sounded like a challenge. What am I doing?!_

"That right?" Reno set his glass down and raised an eyebrow at her. Tifa was tired of blushing, so she set her shoulders and tilted her head up. Reno's eyes burned into hers. "Sounds a bit like a challenge, Lockhart. Careful now." He couldn't help but bait her slightly. Tifa snorted and wondered if he'd read her mind.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?"

"Damn fuckin' right I would." Reno's voice had dropped. His smirk was gone and he looked deadly serious. Tifa felt slightly nervous. She wasn't worried when he had his trademark grin. But that serious look seemed even more dangerous. She noticed his gaze flicking between her lips and her eyes with an almost hungry look in his eyes. Tifa would normally run for the hills at this moment. Maybe it was the whisky, maybe it was the fact that she was sick of chasing after guys she'd never get to keep, but seeing him in front of her with lust burning in his eyes caused her own rush of desire to flare up just below her stomach. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had looked at her like that. Sure, she was used to being leered at, but that wasn't the same. There was a want in his eyes that made her brave. She leaned forward, and stared at him through heavy lidded eyes.

"That so?"

"Oh yeah." Reno almost growled. She was killing him. She was in control right now, not him, and she knew it. And that was turning him on even more. He shifted slightly, his blood rushing in his veins and pooling below his waist. He couldn't have taken her eyes off her if Sephiroth himself had burst through the door. A low groan sounded in his throat as the next words left her lips.

"Prove it.

* * *

AN: Ooooooo Tifa, you go girl! Turn that man to putty! Chicks really do dig scars, though. Pretty sure my ex used his sizeable stomach scar to get my attention. It sure as hell worked at the time! I like scar stories :)

So yeah, I have written a bit of what happens between these two in all its lemony goodness. However. I do know that not everyone enjoys lemon and it would require me to put the rating up. I've done it in such a way that the entire chapter can be skipped by those not into it and they won't miss any storyline. But I still don't know whether to actually post it. Let me know what you guys think please!


	13. It's Getting Hot In Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno finds his conscience. Reno hates his conscience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

_Shit._

Reno mentally cursed as Tifa gazed at him through those lashes of hers, his heart racing. He wanted to grab her and tear her clothes off right there and then. But he wasn't sure if this was a trick. And he'd rather not have Tifa kick his ass in his own house if he could help it. That would just be embarrassing. Shifting himself slightly and keeping one arm along the back of the couch, he leaned forward slightly, his eyes on hers. She hadn't pulled back but she hadn't moved forward either. Was she serious? Or was she just playing with him. _C'mon Reno. Don't be a pussy. She gave you the green light. Sure, you're both a bit drunk, but she knows what she's doing, doesn't she?_ The small bit of conscience Reno had nagged at him and he studied her face. Her eyes seemed a little glazed, but she was nowhere near completely smashed. Her chest rose and fall with hurried breaths, and one of her hands rested on the back of the couches only inches from his.

Deciding to test the boundaries, Reno slid his hand forward until the tips of his fingers brushed hers. Goosebumps raised along his forearm as a jolt went through his hand. He had never sat so close to a woman so long without copious amounts of touching (Except for 'Lena of course, but she was like his little sister and ew, no), and finally being able to do so caused his breath to hitch in his throat. He saw Tifa draw in a breath too, yet she didn't draw her hand away. He slid his fingers up over the tops of hers until they stopped at the back of her hand, tracing small circles in her skin. He could have sworn she closed her eyes for a second as she sighed, but when he looked at her, she was still looking at him. Turning to look at their hands, he let the rough pads of his fingers trace up over her wrist and along her forearm, satisfaction purring in his throat as he felt the little bumps that rose up on her skin from the sensation. He couldn't stop the small smirk that crept across his lips as he turned back to look at her. She had moved forward slightly, shifting slightly on her knees. Reno took a minute to thank Holy and whoever else was responsible for him having Tifa Lockhart on her knees on his couch, staring at him _like that._ His fingers traced over the delicate skin at the bend of her arm and he saw her physically shiver, her lips parting slightly.

_Aw hell no. I can't take much more of this. She's killing me here._

Ghosting small shapes and swirls in her skin, Reno moved his hand up over her arm over the fabric of her sweater. He cursed the fabric for being in the way as his hand slid up to her shoulder. He leaned forward a little more, there was barely a foot between their faces now and he felt his mouth going dry. _How the fuck can my mouth be dry after all that liquid?_ He grumbled internally as his tongue darted out across his lips. He noticed her eyes flicked down to his mouth and she mirrored him, her own tongue sliding along her bottom lip slightly. Reno's crotch tightened painfully. His hand made it's way up over the thick polo neck of her sweater and he heard her sigh softly when his fingers made contact with skin again as they traced over the soft skin just under her ear. He didn't know why he was torturing himself so much by going so slow, but the build up was exciting even to him. He moved his fingers up behind her ear and into her hair, moving forward slowly as he did so. She leaned her head slightly into his hand and closed her eyes, her mouth falling open a little further. Reno let his fingers play through the soft silk-like strands of her hair at the top of her neck, his eyes watching hers as they opened again, her lids heavy with desire.

He stopped before he moved any further forward. He wanted to give her an out. He was rewarded with her leaning forward even more, her free hand suddenly holding onto his knee. Reno had never considered himself a religious man, but he thanked every god he could think of as he felt her fingers clutch at the fabric over his knee. Leaning forward and closing the distance, Reno let his lids drop slightly, but not fully closing his eyes as he watched her reaction. He brushed his lips across hers, a low groan in his throat as she gasped onto his lips. Taking her bottom lip into his mouth, he sucked gently and noticed she tasted of whisky. He supposed he did too. Running the tip of his tongue slowly over her lip, he nibbled on it gently before letting it go and pressing his lips more firmly against hers, his breath speeding up as the hand on her knee clenched again before relaxing. He gently massaged the back of her neck with his fingers, and her mouth parted with a deep sigh, and Reno took the opportunity for all it was worth. Pulling her forward slightly and closing his eyes fully, he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth and running it over her lips. She moaned slightly and Reno's fingers clenched slightly, grabbing a fistful of her hair.

 _I cannot believe I'm kissing Tifa Lockhart. And she's practically straddling me. Holy fuck._ Reno tried to ignore his inner monologue as she ran her tongue over his, sending shivers down his spine. He made sure to take great care in exploring her mouth, making sure the piercing in his tongue ran over any sensitive areas he could reach. He was rewarded with another soft moan and Tifa's hand started sliding slowly up his leg. Reno's groin actually hurt with the tension.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that for, her hand on his thigh and his in her hair, their lips working with each other's and their tongues dancing between their mouths, but Reno cursed himself when he had to pull back to catch his breath. He was practically panting, and he was almost sure she could hear his heart beating from where she was sitting. She didn't seem to be much better off, her chest heaving with each breath, which wasn't helping him calm down any. Before Reno had a chance to say anything, Tifa spoke first.

"I see what you mean about friction." She breathed. Reno smirked as a small chuckle rose in his throat.

"I did tell you it was worth keeping." He moved his hand from the back of her neck forward, his fingertips brushing along her jaw as he rested his forehead against hers. He wondered how much she'd regret this in the morning when she sobered up.

As if challenging his thoughts, Tifa suddenly leaned forward, crushing her mouth against his and catching him off guard. He practically collapsed back onto the couch, Tifa on top of him. He would have cried out in surprise if Tifa had kept her mouth against his, her hands resting on his chest. The filthy part of Reno's mind was doing cartwheels. They turned to backflips when she suddenly took his top lip between hers and grazed her teeth along it. His arms came up to wrap around her, crushing her against his chest tightly as a low moan caught in his throat.

Tifa wasn't used to being in control when it came to kissing. The guys she had been with in the past were the kind of guys who would have felt emasculated having the woman take charge in the beginning. But Reno was secure enough himself to let her take the reigns. It appeared that it was a huge turn on for Tifa. The fact that it was an old enemy beneath her was barely a blip in her thoughts and she dropped her hips to press them against him. She had to hold back a gasp as she felt the hardness between his legs when it pressed against her thigh. Reno groaned again and took control of the kiss, and Tifa's hips rolled again in response.

Reno pulled back slightly, regarding her with heavily lidded eyes. His breaths came hard and ragged as he moved his hand round to cup her jaw, running his thumb over her lips before he kissed her again. Tifa slid one of her hands up over his chest to play with the loose strands of crimson hair that fell around the base of his neck and she felt him shudder beneath her. Smiling against his lips, she threaded her fingers into the hair behind his ear and tugged gently. Reno almost came undone beneath her. Breaking away from the kiss, Tifa brought his lips to his ear and made sure they brushed against his lobe as she spoke in a soft whisper.

"I guess the game is over now."

" It's just startin'." Reno purred in response, his head tilting slightly to give her better access as she gently nibbled on his earlobe. He had no idea Tifa would have relished being in control so much. Cloud was a fucking idiot for having a hold of her heart and letting her go.

"That so? You gonna ply me with more drink so I'll do what you want?" Tifa teased. She felt Reno stiffen below her, and something told her it wasn't with pleasure. Leaning back she looked at his face to see his mouth had set in a hard line. She blinked in confusion, and cried out in shock as Reno grabbed her shoulders firmly and sat bolt upright. Her mind reeled as he pushed her gently off his lap and stood up from the couch, his eyes dark even as the firmness between his legs pressed obviously against the crotch of his sweatpants. Tifa stared up at him, he heart still racing. "What's wrong?"

"You think I'm taking advantage of ya cause yer drunk."

"What? No I don't! I was just teasing!"

"Yeah, well, I ain't takin' any chances. You'd probably regret it in the morning anyway." Reno grumbled, running a hand through his thoroughly mussed hair. Tifa continued to stare at him dumbly as he started walking away from her.

"Reno! I may be drunk but I know what I want!" She called after him as he reached the door of his bedroom. "And right now I want you!" He stopped and looked at her over his shoulder, a small yet sad smirk on his face.

"Then you won't have a problem joinin' me in bed in the mornin' when yer sober then."

And with that, he walked into his room and closed the door behind him.

* * *

AN : So Reno DOES have a conscience. Whodathunk it. This chapter got a little hot and heavy. I'm no good with ratings, so if you think it should be upped, let me know! Also, the next chapter is probably my longest yet. Hope you guys are enjoying so far!


	14. Better Out Than In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was all going so well until it wasn't. Vomiting is not awesome, but it is funny sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Tifa sat on the couch, staring at the closed door for what seemed like ages as she waited for her heart to slow. What had just happened? She thought he had been into it. No, she KNEW he had been into it. She'd felt just how much when he had pulled her against him. Then all of a sudden he'd frozen and pushed her off. What the hell? Tifa's emotions raced between hurt, confused, angry and back to hurt again. She was in half a mind to go and knock on his door and ask him what the hell was going on. She thought back over what had just happened. It was hard to think of anything other than how his fingers had felt in her hair, and how his tongue had felt in her mouth. An involuntary shudder creeped it's was down her spine as she closed her eyes.

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt that flustered during what was nothing more than kissing. Even when she'd kissed Cloud for the first time, she had felt her heart soar but his technique wasn't anything to write home about. She had even thought that maybe she had been his first kiss, but surely he had kissed other girls when he'd been living in Midgar? _Reno_ _however_... She shuddered again, but for all the right reasons. He definitely knew what he was doing. He'd even encouraged her to take control. She propped her chin in her hands, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her face in frustration. She tried to focus on the table in front of her, her vision swimming. She'd almost forgotten they'd been drinking until they stopped, and now she felt absolutely wasted. Wasted and frustrated.

This was his fault. All his fault.

Tifa jumped to her feet and swayed unsteadily for a few moments before she found her balance. Her anger was overruling all her other emotions now as she stomped her way towards his bedroom door, her fists clenched at her sides. She banged on the door, her chest heaving with annoyance now rather than the previous excitement. It wasn't until she heard him opening the door from the other side that she realised she had no idea what she was doing or what she was gonna say. As a result, when the door opened, Tifa was standing gawping like a fish as she tried to find words.

Reno stood there illuminated from behind in nothing but his boxers, his hair loose about his shoulders. She didn't know how long it had been since he'd went to his room but he looked like he'd been woken from a deep sleep. Surely he hadn't been able to fall asleep in such a short space of time? She managed a few noncommittal noises as she stared at him. He leaned against the door frame and rubbed his eyes with his other hand. The way he stretched made the muscles in his torso shift and tighten, and Tifa struggled to keep eye contact.

"Can I help you?" He drawled with a bored tone. It was as if the last few hours had never happened. It was enough to reignite Tifa's rage.

"Can you HELP ME? Are you fucking serious?" Tifa spat the curse and Reno's eyes widened slightly, looking more awake. "Wanna tell me what just happened there?"

"I told you. I don't take advantage of girls when they're wasted." He sniffed, his eyes relaxing again. Tifa's fists clenched a little tighter. Rejection hurt at any time, but more so when it was so flippant.

"That didn't stop you from kissing me."

"Yeah. Sorry. Momentary lapse of judgement." He shrugged. Tifa felt her face heat up.

"Momentary... You are so full of shit, Reno. If you didn't actually find me attractive, you could have just said something." She ranted. Reno raised his finger and opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. She was on a roll now. "I'm a big girl, I can take it. And I can decide whether or not I'm too drunk to sleep with someone! I can handle my liquor just as well as you can!" She waggled a finger in front of his face. Usually he would have grabbed said finger, maybe even made an inappropriate joke, but Reno just stood there, letting her rave on. "How do I know YOU weren't too drunk? Huh?"

"I think you'da noticed if I was suffering from whisky dick." He replied, the corner of his mouth curling slightly. Tifa spluttered as his comment threw her off guard.

"What? I don't even... You know what, I don't care. You're an asshole Reno, don't expect to find me here in the morning. I wish I'd never accepted your help in the first place!" She felt her face growing colder as she started running out of steam. Reno opened his mouth to speak but she spoke over him again. "I'll be out of your hair as soon as the sun is up so don't worry." She continued. She noticed her mouth felt a little watery, but she ignored it and carried on. "And I'll make sure I leave your sweatpants in the room. So don't... Don't..." Tifa clutched her stomach as it roiled. Reno sighed slightly and straightened himself up.

"You ok? I was trying to tell you that you were going pale." He reached out and she batted his hand away.

"I'm fine! I don't need your he-" Tifa tried to snap but as soon as she opened her mouth she felt her stomach twist as she vomitted. Clutching her hand over her mouth, she bolted past Reno and into his room and doubled over the toilet as her stomach emptied itself. She threw up until there was nothing more, and then retched some more. She was vaguely aware of the figure to her right and a soft clinking noise. Raising her head slightly, she saw Reno knelt beside her, and he'd put a glass of ice cold water beside her. She noticed he'd changed back into his sweatpants but she couldn't see the waistband of his boxers. Groaning, she dropped her head back into the toilet.

Reno was rather proud of himself that he managed not to mock her as she ate her last words. Well, not ate per say. He even managed keep it to himself that she had thrown up all over him. He was grateful he'd had minimal clothing on. He simply popped his boxers into the rubbish bin and wiped his legs down with a damp towel, which he flung into the laundry basket before pulling on his sweatpants. He wasn't worried about her catching him naked as he changed, in fact he doubted she would be moving any time soon. After he set the glass of water down beside her, he got back to his feet and proceeded to soak a small hand towel in cold water before returning to her side. He held it out to her as she peered at him over her folded arms which were leaning on the seat. He did his best to give her a sincere smile as she reached for the towel and wiped her mouth clean.

"So..."

"Don't."

"What? I didn't say anythin'."

"I already know what you were gonna say so just... Save it. I feel terrible enough as it is." She groaned as she pressed a clean part of the cold towel against her forehead, pushing herself back so she was sitting against the side of the bath. She jumped a little as she felt a hand on hers and opened her eyes to see Reno taking the towel from her and holding it against her head. She let her hands fall into her lap. "I dunno what happened. I was totally fine."

"Yeah. However, we did tank a fair amount of alcohol on not a lot of food." Reno grinned slightly as her eyes closed again. The colour was coming back to her face, so he knew he was less likely to be thrown up on again. "How ya feelin'?"

"Not great. I feel like an idiot." She grumbled, opening her eyes again to look up at him. The fire that had been present during her angry tirade had fizzled out and now she just looked vulnerable again. Reno sighed.

"Don't worry about it. I've made a much bigger fool of myself on booze than you ever will." He offered sympathetically. Tifa chuckled weakly.

"Yeah. Even still. I don't even know where I was going with that."

"Eh. I coulda explained myself better, yo." Reno shrugged and flung the now warm towel into the sink. He turned back to her. "You ok to stand?"

"Yeah, I think so." Tifa nodded as he stood up, offering her his hand. She took it gingerly and he closed his fingers around her hand, helping her to her feet. She promptly fell over into him and Reno cried out as they both crashed back down onto the floor. Tifa blushed furiously but Reno just burst out laughing.

"Well, that didn't work. Let's give that another go shall we?" He grinned as he struggled to his feet before leaning over and wrapping his arms around her waist and hoisting her to her feet. She grabbed his shoulder for dear life as her legs wobbled and her head spun. Reno leaned back slightly to look at her face. "All good?"

"I think I need t' lie down." Tifa grumbled, her face paling slightly as she started slurring her words. Before she could say anything else, Reno bent over and swept his arm under her legs and settled the other one behind her shoulders, lifting her up into his arms. Tifa barely had time to cling to his neck as he carried her back into the bedroom. He gently placed her down on top of the covers and made to walk away, but Tifa still had a hold of his neck. She looked up at him and he smiled at her.

"Relax, yo. I'm just goin' to get you a comfortable top to sleep in." He explained as he reached up and uncurled her fingers from behind his neck. She pouted slightly, feeling well and truly sorry for herself as she saw him walk over to a set of drawers in the corner and rake about in one of the drawers before he pulled out an oversized black tshirt. As he walked back over to her, Tifa clicked.

"Hey. S'your bedroom."

"Nice going, Sherlock." Reno couldn't help but snort as he sat on the edge of the bed, handing her the tshirt. She blinked a few times before she frowned.

"I thought I was stayin' in the spare room?"

"You were. But this bed was closer and you looked like you were gonna hurl again. And one dousing is quite enough for one evening."

"I got you?" She asked innocently, trying to prop herself up on her elbows but failing miserably. Reno gripped her forearms gently and pulled her slowly to to a sitting position.

"Yeah, Teef. Ya 'got me' good." He couldn't help but laugh a bit. Even in her blurry mind, she didn't miss the nickname he gave her. Usually only her friends called her Teef. She hadn't exactly been pleasant to Reno, but he'd been nothing but accommodating towards her. She pouted, making her look younger than her years.

"M'sorry Reno. Didn't mean to." She said, almost whimpering. Reno shook his head.

"I probably deserved it. And it ain't the first time I've been puked on. Won't be the last either. Now c'mon, I'll leave you to change your top so you can go to sleep." He pushed the tshirt into her hands and stood to leave. As he turned away to face the wall, he heard her shuffling behind him. Then he heard a whimper and a low whine and the shuffling stopped.

"Renooo."

"Yeah?"

"M'stuck."

"Whaddaya mean you're-" Reno turned and his eyes shot open. She was sat in the middle of his bed, her arms over her head, one of which was trapped in the sweater along with her head. Meaning that she was pretty much naked from the waist up apart from her bra. Her red, lacy bra. And below that, the tattoo she had mentioned earlier. It's wings curved round her right breast, disappearing under her bra slightly, and the tail curled down almost to her hip. He almost didn't notice the large, slightly horrific (when you knew where it had come from) scar that snaked from above her navel and up between her bust. He noticed that the tattoo did indeed work well to distract the eye. The way the placement of the design accentuated her curves even more was insanely sexy. Reno gulped hard. It had been the most difficult thing he'd done in a long time, walking away from Tifa earlier, and he'd had to splash himself with cold water to calm himself down. Now here she was, half naked and needing help. He slapped his hands over his face and drew them down slowly, pulling at the skin under his eyes. "You're killing me, Teef." He sighed as he walked over and sat down beside her.

Taking hold of the sleeve with the arm still talked inside, he raised his eyes skywards to stop himself from staring. He tugged on the sleeve to try and free her arm, but Tifa had let the arm go limp and it just waggled around in the air. He furrowed his brows until he heard her start to giggle.

"M'stuck, Reno."

"Yes, I can see that, Tifa." He sighed, unable to stop a smile spreading across his lips. He managed to get her arm free and then removed the clothing from her head, revealing a very giggly Tifa.

"M'free!" She exclaimed happily, throwing her hands in the air. Reno nearly snapped his neck trying to stare at the ceiling and ignore the fact that Tifa was bouncing about his bed in just a bra. He had heard that karma was supposed to reward people. This felt more like torture. He looked back down as he felt her tap his shoulder. She was leaning forward on her hands and knees, staring up at him with wide eyes. He gulped. "Reno. Tshirt?"

"What? Oh, right." Reno flushed with colour as he picked up the tshirt. Tifa leant up on her knees and put both her arms in the air. His chest was at his eye level, the eye of the Phoenix head tattoo seemingly judging him, and Reno decided he deserved a medal for willpower this good. He pulled the tshirt on over her arms and down over her head. It was baggy on him, but on Tifa's petite frame it practically drowned her. She grinned widely.

"Ready for bed." She sung, scootching back towards the pillows. Reno thanked his lucky stars that the torture was over and he could head to the spare bedroom and sleep off the booze. No sooner than the thought entered his head, he noticed as Tifa untied the knot at her waist and hooked her fingers in the waistband before pulling it down. Reno's mouth went totally dry as he watched her wriggle out of the sweatpants, catching a flash of underwear to match the bra she had on. He couldn't help but be reminded of an old saying that if a woman's underwear matched, then the guy wasn't one who had decided to have sex. That thought made him groan that maybe Tifa really had wanted to go through with it when she was still on a high. She eased the last bit of material off her feet and tossed it aside. "Can't sleep with these on. S'uncomfortable." She informed him as she reached to grab the edge of the thick duvet. Reno nodded dumbly, feeling like his tongue had swollem about three sizes bigger. He couldn't tear his eyes away as he watched her long legs curl up to duck under the covers, her bare toes wiggling slightly as she did so. Even as they disappeared from sight, Reno was still staring.

Tifa settled herself down under the duvet, wriggling down so her head was on the pillow. Everything felt soft and cool on her skin and she let out a contented sigh. She was just about to close her eyes when she felt the bed shift as Reno got up. She looked up at him as he wandered into the bathroom and returned with the glass of water. He placed it on the small bedside cabinet beside her head and turned to leave.

"Wait! Where you goin'?"

"To the spare room. I need sleep." He answered as he stopped in his tracks to turn and look at her. That over exaggerated pout had returned and Reno's face fell. "What now?"

"Aren't you gonna stay and look after me?" Tifa asked in a small voice, looking the most vulnerable he had ever seen her. It wasn't like Tifa to ask for help. She must have really been gone. Reno sighed.

"I need to lay down, Tifa. Believe it or not I'm still pretty wasted myself." He explained. Tifa simply sat up slightly and threw back the other side of the duvet, the top of her thigh just visible as she leant over and patted the empty space next to her.

"S'only fair. I stole your bed after all."

"Tifa... I already told you..."

"No, I know. Just to sleep. Promise." She gave him a wide smile. Reno ran his hand down his face again. When he looked back at her, her smile had faded. "I know you probably don't want to. But I feel so crappy. I could use some comfort. Even if it is just knowin' someone is beside me." She trailed off, looking down at her hands. Reno felt his heart ache a little. She was actually asking him outright to just sleep beside her. He looked to the sky as if asking an invisible deity what he had had done to deserve such temptation. Looking back down at the petite woman in his bed, he sighed heavily.

"Alright. But no funny stuff, Lockhart." He jokingly scolded as he headed to switch off the small lamp in the corner before he rounded the bed and climbed into the space she'd made for him. He couldn't help but sigh happily as he sunk down into his pillows. One thing Reno treasured was a truly comfy bed. He pulled the duvet up over his chest. Sleeping in sweatpants was gonna annoy him but he didn't have much choice as the moment. He stretched his arms out before folding them behind his head and closing his eyes. He had just started to relax when he felt cool fingers sliding across his stomach and he jerked to the side. Turning his head, he saw could just make out Tifa lying with her head right next to his in the darkness. She stretched her arm back out over his stomach and he tensed slightly, wondering what she was thinking. He began to relax as she snuggled into his side, her arm tightening slightly and pulling him towards her. Reno watched her face as she rested it against his shoulder, her lips brushing against his skin in a way that caused him to shudder. Sighing quietly, he dropped the arm closest to her and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug.

This felt more intimate than if they'd actually had sex. Reno had bedded plenty of woman and the occasional guy, but he could count on one hand how many he'd actually stayed the night with. He let his eyes drift close again even as he felt her shift beside him. His eyes shot open again as he felt her soft lips press against his. His stomach fluttered wildly as she pressed against his side, her lips lingering on his. He couldn't help but squeeze her gently with the arm that was wrapped around her as she melted against him. He was suddenly very grateful that his own legs were covered by material as he felt one of her legs slide against his. The feel of her smooth thighs against his if his legs had been bare would have well and truly destroyed the already shaky willpower that was stopping him from picking up where they'd left off earlier. Just as quickly as it had happened, Tifa shifted back into the crook of his arm and settled herself again him.

"G'night Reno. Thank you." She mumbled sleepily, her breathing quickly softening as she fell asleep. Reno raked his free hand through his hair and looked up at the ceiling. It was gonna be a long night.

* * *

AN : Awww tender Reno. This chapter ended up kinda cute. It is also a mammoth of a chapter, but I couldn't find a good stopping point that didn't result in one teeny chapter and one huge chapter. So there ya go.

Tifas behaviour in this is inspired by an old fic I read soooo long ago called Yuffie's Little Escapade by Tini. It's kinda hilarious. If you haven't checked it out, get yourself to Google and find it!


	15. That's Not The Kind Of AVALANCHE I'm Used To

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up with a mouth like North Corel and a head full of Iron Giants isn't ideal. It's worse when you realise you've been kissing the enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Tifa's eyes felt like they were glued shut and her mouth felt like a dry, dusty wasteland. She tried to open her eyes, but was instantly hit with a pounding headache. She groaned as she clenched her eyes shut before attempting to open them again but slowly this time. She had a moment of panic that she'd gone blind due to too much alcohol before she realised the room was just pitch black. She searched through her memories of the previous day.

 _Okay, I went snowboarding. After a few runs, I decided to take a different path. I ran into a Bandersnatch. Then I got stuck under a tree. How did I get out from under it? Aw yeah, a guy helped me. And we came back to his place because I couldn't get home. So, that's where I am sussed out._ Tifa mentally applauded herself for being able to think through this headache. She started relaxing into the pillow when more memories flooded her mind and her eyes snapped open wide. Almost at the same time as she remembered who had saved her, she felt an arm tighten round her waist. Biting her bottom lip to keep from crying out, Tifa tried to glance over her shoulder but to no avail. It was too dark, and she couldn't see probably without moving, which might wake her companion up. Tifa frantically searched her memories.

 _Oh gods. It's Reno. I'm in bed with Reno. But we didn't...?_ She mentally checked herself over and noticed she wasn't suffering from any telltale aches. She relaxed slightly. _No. We didn't have sex. But I remember kissing him. A lot. Oh gods, I was in charge. And it was kinda hot. Okay, it was a lot hot. So why didn't it go any further?_ Tifa bit her bottom lip when she noticed the faint outline of a glass of water beside her as her eyes adjusted slightly to the darkness. She couldn't help but groan out loud as the next part of the night came back in blurry sections. _Oh gods. I puked on him. And the floor. And in the toilet. Oh gods._ Despite the fact that she was in the dark already, Tifa pulled the thick duvet over her head in shame. It had been a long time since she had been sick with drink. And how embarrassing that she actually threw up ON someone. That still didn't explain how she was in the same bed as him.

Her thoughts were interrupted as her bed mate shuffled closer, sighing softly against her ear. Despite herself, a little shiver of pleasure crept down her back. Reno must have felt her squirm because she felt him stir a little. She could almost hear the lazy smile on his face as he spoke.

"Good morning lil Miss Lightweight. How did you sleep?"

"Uh, fine." She croaked, the dryness in her throat feeling more apparent. She was too busy wallowing in shame to chastise him for the little nickname. She felt him draw his arm back from her waist and she found herself surprised that she suddenly missed the comforting touch. She rolled over to face him, although she could only make out his hair and his eyes in the dark. He turned his head slightly to smile at her, his teeth showing through the darkness.

"That's good. How's the head?"

"It hurts like hell. But that's my own fault."

"Yeah, I'm feelin' pretty rough myself. Quite possibly still drunk actually." Reno drawled as he yawned, extending his arms up into the air as he stretched. Tifa remained curled into a slightly fetal position as she watched him.

"You don't sound rough."

"I have a lot more practise at being hungover than you do." He stated, folding his arms behind his head. Tifa drew the covers around her neck.

"Reno?"

"Mmm?"

"Why am I in your bed? I know we didn't..."

"Naw. We didn't. Not for your lack of tryin' though." He teased. Tifa groaned loudly and pulled the duvet back over her head. Reno laughed. "Aw c'mon, I'm just jokin' with ya. You gotta learn to laugh at these things, Lockhart."

"Maybe I'll be able to laugh about it in a few years." She grumbled, earning another laugh from Reno. "You didn't answer my question though."

"You asked me to stay, yo."

"I asked you?"

"Yeah. You pulled out the big puppy dog eyes and everythin'." Reno informed her as she groaned again from behind the duvet. "This was after you got trapped in yer own top of course." The duvet flew back and Reno could see her wide eyes even in the dark.

"I what?!"

"Got stuck."

"In my top?"

"In your top."

"Oh gods, what did you do?"

"I helped ya out of it. All gentlemanly like." Reno grinned. "And I mean that. No gropin' or nothing. Even when you started bouncin' about on my bed with no top on." his grin grew wider as Tifa flung the duvet back over her head in shame, whining quietly about how unfair life is and thrashing around slightly. She stopped suddenly and the muffled voice spoke again.

"Reno?"

"Yep?"

"Why don't I have anything on the bottom half apart from underwear?"

"Oh, that was yer own doin'. You weren't satisfied with teasin' me to death by flashin' your bra at me, so you decided I needed a look at your panties as well." Reno stifled a laugh as the thrashing under the covers started again. Tifa wished the ground would just swallow her up.

"I am sooo sorry." Tifa whined from her duvet fortress. Reno rolled into his side and propped his head up on his hand, before gently prodding the lump of covers beside him. She squeaked slightly and stopped moving but she didn't reappear.

"Hey Teef."

"What?"

"How come ya had matchin' undies on, yo." He queried, practicality feeling her stiffen beside him. "I heard that chicks only save that shit for when they know they're gettin' some." He grinned again as the duvet flew off and Tifa huffed at him.

"I did not expect to be 'gettin some', as you so eloquently put it. Sometime I just wanna wear nice underwear for me." Tifa's face was on fire. She was grateful for the lack of light. Reno chuckled.

"Fair enough. I wasn't complainin'. Even if I was spendin' my time tryin' to cover it up. I'm usually the one tryin' to take it off." He smirked, his eyes shining with mischief. Tifa rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, I don't think that's a great idea."

"Yeah, I figured you'd feel that way. I did warn ya."

"What?"

"Last night. I stopped cause I didn't want ya to regret what happened in the mornin'." Reno reminded her. Tifa rolled onto her side to face him, looking down sheepishly.

"No. Uh. I meant... Cause I feel a bit nauseated and I wouldn't wanna throw up on you. Again."

"Aw." Reno paused. He'd assumed she would wake up and proclaim it all a horrible mistake. He wasn't so proud that he usually worried if the person he slept with suffered from a hint of regret in the morning. As long as a good time was had by both parties, he was generally pretty happy. But here she was, still in bed with him, not running for the hills despite the fact that they hadn't actually slept together. Reno couldn't help the little flutter in his stomach as he looked at her. "Well. Yeah. That too."

"Yeah."

They both trailed off into a slightly awkward silence as they both rolled onto their backs to stare at the ceiling. Reno rubbed his eyes slightly before sitting up.

"What time is it anyways? It shouldn't still be this dark, yo." He mused aloud before pulling back the covers and putting his feet on the cold hardwood floor. Tifa felt the cold rush under the duvet as he removed himself from the bed and she pulled the covers around herself a little more tightly. Reno padded over to the small window by the door and opened his curtains. Tifa was confused when no light filled the room as she'd expected. Reno was obviously just as confused as he crossed the room to pop the lamp back on. A dull orange glow filled the room, and Tifa was grateful it wasn't any brighter. Her head was still pounding. Reno walked back to his window and grabbed the bottom just above the sill and tugged. He strained slightly as his window refused to budge. Putting a bit more strength into it, he tugged at the window once more.

Tifa sat sat up as she heard him yelp loudly, and her eyes widened as she saw why. Snow had fallen in the open space when Reno had opened the window and he now raced to shut it again, his feet covered in the freezing white stuff. Tifa couldn't help but giggle as she watched him slam the window shut and jump backwards across the room, shaking his feet. Reno looked at her incredulously.

"That's a lot of fuckin' snow. What the hell is goin' on?"

"Isn't that normal?"

"Hell naw." Reno seemed perplexed. He stared blankly ahead before cursing and bolting out the room. Tifa warred with herself over whether or not to get out of bed and face the cold air, but when she heard him loudly cursing from the next room, she had to find out what was wrong. Delicately putting her bare feet down onto the cool floor, she tiptoed slowly to the doorway. She looked around and spotted Reno in the small hallway, the open door in front of him. Only it didn't look open. A wall of white reached top to bottom, blocking any view of outside. Tifa raised her hands to her mouth.

"Reno? Why is the snow above the door?"

"I have no fuckin' idea." He stared open-mouthed at the wall of white in front of him, before turning round and jogging into the kitchen. Picking up his PHS, he tried to dial a number but couldn't even get a dial tone. Cursing again, he bolted across the living room, clearing the couch in a single leap as he grabbed at the small, old fashioned landline phone that Tifa hadn't even noticed. She went back to staring at the front door as she heard Reno dial a number.

"Hey, Josh? S'Reno. Wanna tell me why I have a brand new front door made entirely of snow?" Reno barked. Tifa leaned round the doorframe to watch him, hiding herself slightly since she still wore just her underwear and the baggy tshirt Reno had given her. It came down to mid thigh but she still felt exposed, even though Reno himself only had sweatpants on. She felt a pit of dread opening in her stomach as she watched Reno's shoulders drop.

"What happened?"

"An avalanche." Reno called over his shoulder, not turning to face her has he pressed the receiver against his ear. "What? No, I'm not alone. None of yer fuckin' business, Josh. Well, yeah. Obviously. How long?! Aw, fuck. Right. Yeah I know it can't be helped. Keep me updated." Reno trailed off as he hung up the receiver, his hand still resting on it. Tifa took a tentative step out out of the bedroom.

"Reno? What does this mean?"

"it means we're stuck in here until at least tomorrow." Reno said in an even tone. Tifa couldn't help but groan slightly. She covered her face wth her hands. Of all the time to be trapped with someone, did it have to be when she'd embarrassed herself so fully?

Reno let go of the receiver and folded his arms across his bare chest. This was not the way he expected to be spending his weekend. His head was still pounding so he decided to take care of that first. He shuffled into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, noting that it was the last one. Thankfully, the garage was attached to the side of the house and he had plenty more there. Reno was glad that he was at least prepared. He unscrewed the lid and tipped his head back, gulping down the cool liquid. When he'd almost finished it, he replaced the cap and ran his hand across his mouth. There was nothing else for it. He was just gonna need to suck it up and entertain himself until they were dug out. He decided that even though he didn't really know what time it was, there was no point being up and about so early if he couldn't even leave the house, so he turned to head back to his bedroom. He stopped in his tracks at the vision in the doorway. Tifa was leaning against the doorframe, chewing absently at her nails as she stared off into space towards the front door, her free arm wrapped around her waist. The baggy tshirt he had given her skimmed her mid thigh, showing off the majority of her long, toned legs. He noticed she was standing on her tiptoes in her bare feet. Her long hair fell about her shoulders in the way that only bed head could, yet somehow she looked sexy as hell. Even more so that she hadn't even noticed him looking at her. His mind flashed back to her comment in bed this morning and how she wasn't actually repulsed by him. He couldn't have stopped the grin that spread across his face even if he wanted to.

Maybe being snowed in with a gorgeous girl wasn't going to be the worst weekend ever.

* * *

AN : The horror of waking up in an unfamiliar bed before you remember events of the night before! I have a terrible habit of stealing random beds if I'm at a house party. No funny stuff, I just like to know I'm comfy and safe from having my face attacked with a marker pen. My friends are mean like that XD so I've had a couple of mornings where I've woken up (alone, might I add) and had a severe wtf moment before I realise where I am.

Also, avalanches. I guess only a large amount of whisky would help you to sleep through that haha :)

Also, when Reno is diving around the living room, picture the episode of Friends where Chandler is running around Monica's apartment in excitement and he clears the couch completely when running from one end of the room to the other. That's what I visualised when I was writing it haha

Many thanks to my new followed and all you guys reading! I'm still curious whether or not I should post the rather lemony chapter I've written. Hmm. Let me know what you think!


	16. Spooning Usually Leads To...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing else for it. Back to bed!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Tifa stared at the wall of snow. Reno hadn't seemed too concerned on the phone, just a bit annoyed. But she felt panic welling up inside her. All her belongings were back in her hotel room, and she was supposed to be heading home Sunday night. She chewed on her thumbnail as she wracked her brain. She supposed she should call the hotel and explain. They would probably think she was some sort of dirty stop out for not sleeping in her own hotel room, but she was more worried about her belongings. She skiffed her foot across the floor before tucking one ankle behind the other. She hoped Reno would let her used the phone. She felt like all she'd done for the past 24 hours was ask him for favours. Grumbling slightly, she snapped out of her daze and turned to face Reno. He was leaning lazily against the kitchen counter, his chin resting in his hand as he stared at her with that lopsided grin of his. Tifa blinked in confusion before she suddenly became very self conscious. Pulling at the hem of her t-shirt, she cleared her throat and his eyes focused on hers.

"Urm. Can I use the phone? I gotta call the hotel and let them know I know be back tonight either. Just in case they think I've abandoned my stuff." Reno simply nodded, his grin widening as he watched her tiptoe across to the phone, holding down the bottom of the tshirt. He chuckled softly to herself as she attempted to bend over to dial the number whilst also keeping her modesty in tact. Shaking his head, he crossed the room and headed back into the bedroom. He might as well slam a couple of painkillers before he went back to sleep. Heading into the en suite and opening the medicine cabinet, he located bottle of painkillers and twisted the lid off, tipping two into his hand before knocking them back and taking a swig from his bottle of water. He went to screw the lid back on, before remembering Tifa had complained of a sore head too. He tipped out another two pills into his hand before putting the bottle back in its place. He laid the two painkillers down next to the glass of water he'd gave her not so many hours ago before clambering back into bed, sighing deeply. He rolled onto his stomach and folded his arms under the pillow, listening to the soft tones of Tifa trailing through from the living room.

He chuckled slightly as he listened to her polite phone voice. Before long, he heard her hang up the phone with a loud sigh, followed by the pitter patter of her delicate footsteps. He heard her close the front door over before she headed back to find him. He realised she's stopped in the doorway.

"Really? You're going back to sleep?"

"Nothin' else to do. Unless ya got any suggestions, yo." Reno leant his head to the side on the pillow and opened one eye as Tifa came into view at the side of the bed, her arms crossed under her bust and a rather unimpressed expression on her face.

"Very funny. Some host you are, leaving me awake by myself."

"Hey, your spot is right here." He grinned, reached out one arm and patting the empty space beside him, much like she had done to him last night. She narrowed her eyes slightly but did not budge. She did however, notice the two little pills next to the glass of water.

"What are those?"

"Painkillers. Nothing too spectacular but they'll take the edge off your headache." Reno explained as he curled his arm back under the pillow and nuzzled his face into it, yawning slightly. "You'll find they work better if you take a little nap too."

"How convenient." Tifa couldn't help the corner of her mouth tilting up into a smile as she picked up the two pills and the glass of water. Usually she wouldn't accept strange pills from anyone, but she figured if Reno was gonna drug her, he'd have had ample opportunity last night. She popped them into her mouth and drained the glass before placing it back down with a satisfied sigh. She wiped her mouth with her fingertips as she observed the redhead who had gone silent. The crimson strands of his hair fanned out over his shoulders and she saw his back move slightly with each steady breath. Tifa bit her bottom lip and weighed up her options. Her head was still aching and she would rather wake up a second time with it gone. Against her better judgement, she slipped back into the bed, a low hum sounding in her throat as she felt the warmth below the covers. Turning her back to Reno, she clutched the thick, soft duvet around her and closed her eyes, almost surprised at how relaxed she felt hopping back into bed with the ex-Turk. Maybe she was still a little bit drunk from last night. She didn't even know how long they had slept for. Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt him stir slightly behind her. Neither of them moved for a moment, until Tifa felt an arm snake around her waist. She froze, her eyes opening as she turned her head slightly. She could see the side of his face and various loose strands of hair out the corner of her vision and she felt a sense of deja vu from when she'd woken up earlier. Reno lifted his head slightly so he could look her in the eye.

"Ya don't mind, do ya?" Reno asked softly. Tifa didn't think she'd heard the loud mouthed Turk ever speak so quietly. She continued to stare at him over her shoulder, blinking but otherwise unmoving. "If it's weird, tell me now. But truth is, I slept better last night than I have in a long time with you clinging on to me." He explained, his expression turning sheepish. Tifa felt her heart flutter ever so slightly. She didn't really know what to say in reply, but then she remembered how vulnerable she'd be last night and he hadn't made her feel stupid. The only rejection she got from him was for her own good. Not quite knowing what to say, Tifa settled for simply settling her hand on his and smiling slightly, a small blush creeping up into her cheeks. She felt Reno relax behind her as he smiled in return settling himself back down onto the pillow. She felt him link his hands with hers as his soft breath tickled her ear. This was the strangest holiday she'd ever taken, she didn't ever expect that the ex-Turk would be so open with her. And her with him. She couldn't help a small smile as she closed her eyes.

Because for some reason, Tifa found she didn't seem to mind.

* * *

AN : Awww, the fluff. A sleepy, slightly drunk Reno is a cute Reno. I hope this doesn't seem too crazy OOC. I know for a fact that when I'm feeling a bit worse for wear, I want nothing more than to snuggle under the covers with someone. That and the added feeling of a holiday romance vibe is my excuse for why these two are so chilled out. If it seems too unrealistic though, let me know! Sorry this chapter is so short too. Just made sense for the transition.


	17. The Boredom Is Setting In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bored Reno is a mischievous Reno

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Tifa woke up slowly, her eyes blinking rapidly as the warm glow that filled the room brought everything into focus. Yawning widely, she rolled onto the back and stretched her arms wide, her back curling up off the bed. When her arms flopped back down, she noticed they met an empty bed. She looked to the side and noticed she was alone, basically starfishing across the mattress. Yawning again, she sat up slowly, the heavy duvet falling around her waist. It had been a very surreal 24 hours, and Tifa rubbed her eyes. She had no concept of what time it was, but she felt refreshed and her headache was mostly gone. Her senses kicking in, she could swear that she could smell coffee wafting through from the other room. She prayed her mind wasn't just playing tricks on her, she hadn't seen a coffee machine the night before. Squirming over to the edge of the bed, Tifa got up and wandered into the bathroom, clicking the light on as she did so. She answered the familiar morning call of nature (although was it morning? She had no idea), and then decided to wash her face. She ran the cold water tap and was surprised that it was lukewarm, but she splashed her face anyway. Reaching for a towel, she dried off and stared at herself in the mirror above the sink. Her hair stuck out at almost impossible angles, almost rivaling Cloud's spikes. Her eyes were a little puffy from sleep, but apart from that she didn't look as rough as she had felt earlier. Opening the medicine cabinet, she thanked Holy when she found some mouthwash. She ached to brush her teeth, but this would do for now. Swirling the minty liquid in her mouth, Tifa's thoughts wandered to earlier in the day.

It had been extremely out of character for Reno to open up to her, even a small amount. Him asking her for comfort had taken her completely by surprise. Any other day of the week in any other setting, she would probably have slapped him or laughed, thinking he was winding her up. But for some reason, she was happy to let him find solace in an innocent touch. _Well, mostly innocent. It's not like the night before never happened._ Tifa spat the mouthwash into the sink rinsed it off before dabbing her mouth with the towel. She was curious now. Reno had mentioned not sleeping properly. She wanted to find out why. It might also explain why he had left the Turks, something Tifa never thought Reno would do unless the reason was his own demise. She wished she had brought it up the previous night when alcohol was loosening his tongue, but then the night might have gone differently. She wasn't entirely sure that she would have changed the evening. Except for the vomiting, of course.

Tifa finger combed her hair as smoothly as she could before she left the bathroom and spotted the sweatpants that she'd dumped unceremoniously on the floor the night before. She pulled them on and knotted the ties at the waist, noting that she was now dressed mostly in Reno's clothing. She wrinkled her nose a little and wondered when that had been something she was okay with. With a shake of her head, she wandered out into the livingroom and stopped dead. She clamped a hand over her mouth as she stifled a laugh. Reno was sitting on the couch. Well, sitting was a very loose term. He was upside down, his back where his legs should be, and his lanky legs flung over the back of the couch. His head was dangling off the edge, the mess of red hair dangling mostly in mid air, save for the long ponytail which curled on the floor. His legs gently kicked back and forth, much like a child on a high stool. She noticed he was too preoccupied to notice her. He was attempting to throw something into his mouth from a bowl that was cradled on his lap. As she watched him, she noticed that more often than not he missed completely. On second glance, she noticed that his hair was practically covered with what the foodstuff was, along with the floor around him, and he actually had his trademark goggles on, as if to protect his eyes from stray food shrapnel. A short bark of laughter burst from her lips and she clamped her hand tightly over her mouth, but it was too late. Reno turned his head to acknowledge her, a wide goofy grin spreading across his upside face as he lifted his goggles to look at her, snapping them back up in their customary place

"G'morning! Or afternoon, rather."

"Same to you. Having fun, are we?"

"Eh. I'm bored. The hangover has settled to a manageable level and we're still trapped." He explained as he placed the bowl to the side and swung his legs round. Tifa laughed softly.

"Don't stop on my account."

"S'ok. The blood rushing to my head was starting to get a bit intense." He explained as he stood up, brushing himself off. She noticed as he shook the bits of food out his hair that his face was indeed rather pink. She shook her head slightly, amused by his antics.

"Fair enough. Did I smell coffee when I woke up this morning?" She started towards the kitchen as Reno bounced to his feet, folding his arms behind his head as he nodded.

"Yep. Dragged out the coffee machine. Not that I need caffeine, but I figured you might what with you lyin' in bed all day." Reno teased. Tifa shot him a look of mock annoyance before turning towards the freshly made pot of coffee. She picked it up and inhaled deeply, almost wanting to cry with happiness. She was just about to ask Reno where he kept his mugs when he was all of a sudden right beside her, reaching up past her head to one of the high cupboards. As he did so, he brushed against her shoulder and she noticed the the tshirt he had on ride up slightly to flash the skin just above his waistband. Tifa couldn't help but catch a glimpse of the scar he showed her last night and an involuntary shiver ran through her. She was pretty sure that had been the cause of the misbehaving. She felt her cheeks flush with colour as Reno righted himself, a plain white mug in his hand, which he set down in the counter in front of her.

"Uh, thanks."

"No problem. Cream in the fridge door shelves, sugar in the cabinet below ya." He offered as he headed back to the living room, seemingly unaware of her pink tinted cheeks.

"I just take my coffee black. No sugar. But thanks."

"Ah, I see. Sweet enough, are ya?" Reno flung over his shoulder with a wink as he sat back against the headrest of the couch. Tifa rolled her eyes as she poured a liberal amount of coffee into the mug. She picked up the mug and wrapped her hands around it, the warmth making her fingertips tingle. She heard a thump and looked over to see Reno had tipped backwards into the couch and into the position she'd found him earlier, his legs sticking up awkwardly over the couch. She couldn't help but giggle to herself as she walked over towards him.

"You're like a child, honestly." She noted out loud as she leaned on the back of the couch next to his dangling legs, the mug still cradled in both hands. Reno looked up at her, the goofy grin back on his face.

"I gotta entertain myself somehow. And I can't get you drunk again til at least 5 o'clock."

"What?! You honestly think I'm going to accept alcohol again tonight?" Tifa spluttered in disbelief. She hadn't even fully chased off the hangover from last nights escapades. Reno attempted to shrug, but in his position it just served to wriggle him a bit closer to the floor.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that towards the end of the game, you were just quizzin' me and I got to ask nothin' back."

"You point that out now?"

"Yep, I was savin' them."

"For what?"

"So I could ask ya stuff when you sobered up." His grin turned mischievous. Tifa snorted and nudged his legs upwards. With a yelp, Reno crashed into the floor, all lanky limbs and red hair. Tifa burst out laughing. By the time he straightened himself up to a sitting position, Tifa was innocently sipping her coffee like nothing had happened. Reno narrowed his eyes and flashed his teeth as his trademark lopsided grin spread across his face. "Nice one, Lockhart. But you are so gonna regret that."

"What? I didn't do anything." Tifa looked up innocently before tilting her mug back to her lips.

"Yeah, yeah. Believe it or not, I'm a patient man. And I will get ya back. Remember you're stuck in here with me for an undetermined amount of time." He wagged his finger at her. Tifa froze. She had forgotten about their predicament and she had no doubt that Reno would make sure he got her back before she left. Shrugging with false nonchalance, Tifa wandered around to sit on the couch, tucking her legs underneath herself as she cradled her mug in her lap.

"Hmmm. If you say so." She said with an almost sing song tone in her voice. Reno's grin remained plastered to his face as he bounced up and flung himself into the couch with such force that the cushion Tifa was on actually lifted a little.

"I do say so. But in the meantime, whadda ya wanna do? I am BORED." Reno whined slightly as he emphasised the word. Tifa looked over at him and saw he was practically bouncing on the couch with lent up energy. She took a sip of her coffee, still watching him.

"Well, what do you usually do on your days off?"

"Snowboard. Get drunk. Get drunk and go snowboarding." Reno counted off his so-called hobbies on his fingers, making Tifa laugh.

"Well, we can't do any of those things. And I am not drinking any more whisky." She said firmly. Even saying the word 'whisky' made her head pulse. Reno shrugged and jumped up out of his seat, and jogged into the kitchen. Tifa couldn't believe her eyes when he pulled out a beer. "You have got to be kidding."

"Not even a little." Reno replied as he planted in hand on the headrest and hopped over the couch, landing hard and causing Tifa to bounce again. Leaning forward, he tilted his beer bottle against the table before he paused. "Hey wait. I have a fuzzy memory of you opening a bottle with another bottle last night. Show me how ya done it!"

"You wanna steal one of my party tricks?"

"I'll trade ya. One of mine for one of yours."

"I don't even wanna know what sordid things you called party tricks!" Tifa teased, earning a laugh from the redhead.

"Nothing like that! Unless you really wan- ahh, I'm kiddin'!" Reno laughed as Tifa launched a cushion at his head. He felt a sense of deja vu. "C'mon. It'll entertain me for a while." Tifa sighed before looking over at him. He held his beer bottle out towards her, his eyes sparkling with eagerness. She rolled her eyes and put down her coffee cup, taking the beer from his hand.

"Fine. Want do you wanna learn to open it with?"

"I get a choice?! Aw, this is gonna be fun!"

* * *

AN : I love Reno, but can you imagine being stuck in with someone with that much energy? Hoo boy. My husband has a habit of pestering the life out of me in the most childish ways when he's bored so I may give Reno some of those little... 'quirks'.

The last chapter was super short so have a double update! Also thank yooouuuu to those of you who have given me kudos on this! Makes me feel warm and fuzzy.


	18. Party Tricks and Pizza Slices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno tries his luck at getting some questions answered

They sat together on the couch, swapping party tricks and weird facts about each other for what seemed like hours. Tifa taught Reno how to open a bottle with almost any solid object, which she instantly regretted when they ended up with five opened beers in front of them on the table, which Reno insisted was a waste if they didn't drink them. He proceeded to drink four of them before he could convince Tifa that one wouldn't hurt. Tifa showed Reno how make an origami frog that actually hopped, and Reno showed Tifa how to turn a 5 Gil note into a ring. Tifa tried to teach Reno how to whistle loudly, but he insisted his tongue piercing was the reason he couldn't get the hang of it. He did however prove to her that he could roll his tongue, fold it into the shape of a three leaf clover, and touch the tip of his nose with it. Tifa had to look away as she blushed and Reno couldn't help but laugh at her. At one point, he disappeared and came back with a 1 Gil coin and tried to convince her to try rolling it down her face before she reminded him that she had lived with Marlene long enough to know about that prank. That didn't stop Reno from trying to roll it down her face anyway, and she whacked him with a cushion to get him to stop.

"What did I tell you about this pillow fight, Lockhart? You won't win if you start it. And if you do, I'm gonna have to insist we fight like men."

"What does that even mean?"

"Y'know, stripped to the waist. Ow!" Reno faked injury as she whacked him again.

"Nice try, pervert."

"I would get a better look at that tattoo, too."

"What?! When did you...?" She remembered him telling her that he'd had to help her undress. She blushed furiously and was about to whack him again for good measure when her stomach growled loudly. Reno stared at her, blinking in confusion before he hopped up off the couch.

"Oh yeah! Food. You reckon you can stomach anything, Lightweight?"

"Hey! I did alright. And yeah, I'm actually starving." Tifa clutched her stomach, thankful for Reno's short attention span and therefore a change of topic as he looked down at her.

"I don't have much. Didn't plan on company this weekend. Pizza?" He tilted his head slightly as he asked and Tifa could feel herself salivating.

"Yes. Pizza."

"Alright! Two pizzas comin' up!"

"Two?"

"Whataver you don't manage, I'll put away just fine, yo." He assured her as he headed into the kitchen and popped the oven on before rummaging around in the freezer. Tifa had no doubt that he probably ate an absolute ton but never gained a pound. She silently cursed him before noticing that she was getting cold. She grabbed one of the blankets thrown over the back of the couch, tucking it around herself before settling back with her single beer in her lap. She had been nursing it slowly to stop Reno from getting her another one. He was on beer number 6.

"Reno?"

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

"It's, uh..." She heard him shuffling around the kitchen as he looked for his PHS. He flicked it open. "It's 6.30pm."

"What?! No wonder I'm hungry!" Tifa stared over the couch at him in disbelief. Where the hell has the day disappeared to? Tifa couldn't believe how fast time has flown by in Reno's company. The ex-Turk shrugged as he pulled the pizzas out of their boxes and popped them into the oven. He grabbed another two beers on his way back to the couch. Tifa realised he must have restocked the fridge at some point since they had made a pretty resizable dent in the alcohol last night. "Where did you get more beer?"

"The garage. It's attached to the cabin at the back of the spare room. Got water and some food in there too. Emergency stuff."

"Beer is included in your emergency supplies?"

"Like you even have to ask."

"Good point."

They sipped on their drinks as they waited for the pizzas to cook. Reno obviously wasn't good at waiting, and insisted on dragging the lamp over and tilted it over on the table so he could make shadow animal shapes on the wall with his hands. Tifa found herself laughing often as he tried to impress her with truly shoddy shapes until she showed him up with a rather impressive Chocobo shadow. Reno made a quip about he she had obviously studied a certain Chocobo head in great detail, and she resorted to whacking him with the cushion again. He was just about to retaliate when the timer he'd set on the oven when off.

"You got off lucky this time, Lockhart." He chuckled as he pointed at her in a mock threat. Clambering over the back of the couch, he dashed off to the kitchen. Tifa wondered if he ever got off the couch the same way twice in a row. It wasn't long before he came back to stand at the side of the couch with a pizza balanced in each hand. Tifa cleared some of his empty beer bottles off the table and he put the pizzas down, perching on the edge of the couch as he helped himself to two slices. Both were pepperoni, you couldn't argue with the classics. Tifa helped herself to a single slice and settled back against the arm of the chair, draped in the blanket, and gingerly nibbled the end of the hot food. Reno didn't seem to notice the temperature, tearing ridiculously large mouthfuls off either slice in tandem. Tifa watched him in amazement. By the time she'd finished her first slice, Reno had put away four slices and had numbers 5 and 6 in his hands. She reached for another slice slowly.

"You're not gonna try and eat my hand if I try and take a slice are you?" She teased, raising an eyebrow. Reno gave her a mock glare, attempting to spit out a witty comeback that just came out as a series of noises since his mouth was stuffed full. Tifa rolled her eyes with a grin and sat back to eat her second slice. After Reno had finished off a whole pizza to himself in record time, he drained another of his beers before dragging his forearm across his mouth to wipe off any food or booze. A pointless exercise, since he picked up another slice straight after. He could feel Tifa staring at him as he leant forward, mouth open ready to take a bite. He closed his mouth and looked at her.

"What?"

"You are something else, Reno." Tifa couldn't help but laugh as she took a third slice. She had a pretty sizable appetite herself, but she generally took time to enjoy her food. Her stomach wasn't completely recovered form the previous night's hurried emptying either. But Reno was putting away the food so fast she wasn't even sure he knew how it tasted. He just shrugged at her before demolishing the slice in his hand. After yet another slice, Reno finally settled back against the couch, a fresh beer in his hand as he patted his stomach contentedly with a satisfied sigh. Tifa managed a fourth slice and called it quits, still nursing the first beer Reno had forced upon her. They sat in a contented silence for a while, Reno's head tilted back against the headrest and his eyes closed, only moving to take a swig of his beer now and again. Tifa finished hers off and placed it on the table gently. Reno lifted his head and opened his eyes as she did, looking at her and waving his bottle at her in suggestion. Tifa bit her bottom lip.

"Another?"

"I'm not sure."

"S'up to you. I ain't gonna force ya." Reno shrugged, draining his bottle and sliding off the couch to go back to the kitchen, lifting the remnants of pizza and putting it on the kitchen counter. Tifa looked at the pile of bottles that was covering Reno's half of the table and then back at her measly single empty. She hoped she didn't regret it as she called through to him to bring her another. He appeared back on the couch with a grin and two ice cold bottles in his hand. Popping them open with one of the empties, he handed her one.

"How can you have drank that many and not even be slightly staggering?" Tifa questioned, taking a tentative sip. She couldn't believe she was still enjoying the taste despite the night before. Reno looked at his empty pile and shrugged again.

"High tolerance I guess. When I can't sleep, I drink. And that's a lot." He explained. Tifa watched him for a moment before a shudder went through her. She realised the room was actually pretty cold, so she snuggled down under the blanket a bit more. Reno noticed. "Ya cold?"

"A little." She admitted. Reno pulled himself back off the couch and went to the fire, preparing the pile and the kindling before lighting it a lot quicker than she had managed the night before. As the larger logs started to catch, he got to his feet and headed back to sit beside her. As he flopped back, he extended his arm along the back of the couch, tilting his head with a lopsided grin.

"Should heat up soon. I guess I'm gettin' used to the cold here."

"Thanks."

"S'fine. I was gonna offer to warm you up myself but I've had enough cushions-to-the-face in the past 24 hours." His smile widened to a grin. Tifa shot him a mock annoyed look. He took a sip of his drink before he crossed his legs, one ankle resting on the opposite knee. "So. We've eaten, swapped awesome party tricks, and proved that I'm awesome at shadow puppets..." He trailed off. Tifa let out a bark of laughter.

"You mean you've shown that you have no idea what most animals actually look like."

"Hey, I like to add my own spin to things." He defended, sticking his tongue out at her. Tifa rolled her eyes at him. "So. Do I get to catch up on questions?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"The nature of said questions. I'm not drunk this time so less likey to answer whatever your gutter-bound mind comes up with." Tifa reminded him. It was Reno's turn to roll his eyes.

"Fine, I'll try ta keep them clean, and you don't hafta answer them all. I'll ask away and you can tell me to fuck off if it gets too personal. Which it probably will." He pointed at her with the hand that still held his bottle. "First one. When the hell did you loosen up so much?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been in my presence for over 24 hours now and save for the cushion attacks, one flirty kiddy hit and an actual slap to the face, you haven't tried to kill me or dig your way out with your bare hands. Why?" Tifa's eyes widened halfway through his observation.

"Oh gods, I forgot that I had slapped you."

"Probably deserved it."

"Probably. But still. Sorry."

"See, that. Apologising for hitting me when I was bein' an asshole. Why?"

"Should I not apologise?"

"I don't claim to have known you well before, Lockhart, but I know for a fact you would never have apologised to me before. Not even for this." He tapped his stomach over his t-shirt. He could have sworn Tifa winced slightly.

"I don't know. I guess it's because you helped me out, even when you realised who I was. The fact that you actually invited me into your home too. That's something you would never have done either."

"Ya got a point there."

"Yeah. I just... I dunno. I just wanna try living like a normal girl my age for a while, not the martial artist who was one of the saviours of the Planet." She answered, looking down as she picked at the label of her beer, no hint of smugness in her voice at her own labels. Reno tilted his head back against the couch again, staring at the ceiling.

"Guess we both had a good few crazy years with not much normality. Whatever the fuck that is anyway." Reno mused, taking a long slow drink. "Okay, next question. Yer probably not gonna answer this one..."

* * *

AN: Sometimes, I find myself sharing things about myself I would maybe even hesitate telling my best friends about when I'm chatting to people who don't know me well enough to judge or be biased. So I'm gonna say Tifa does too, in this situation. Also, all party tricks mentioned are from my arsenal, except the whistling and the shadow puppets. I do blame my piercing for not being able to whistle properly!

Coming next, the explanation as to why Reno left Edge!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.


	19. Sharing Is Caring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno explains to Tifa why he left Edge and it wasn't what she was expecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

"You're going to ask me about Cloud, aren't you?"

"Bingo." Reno took another drink, keeping his eyes on the ceiling. He figured if he wasn't watching her, she might actually answer. To his surprise, she started to speak after a few moments deliberation.

"We tried. We really did. To live as a family. Me, Cloud, Marlene, Denzel. We even tried dating, whenever Cloud had some time off from deliveries. You can imagine how often that happened. It ended up being mostly... physical..." She said the word quietly, her eyes flicking to see Reno's reaction. She saw the corner of his mouth twitch but he just took another drink and kept staring at the ceiling as if the wooden beams were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. "Towards the end I noticed he was mostly just doing it because he thought that's what I wanted. I pretended it was for a while, too. But the fact is, he's never going to get over Aeris." Tifa winced slightly. Aeris had been her best friend, but she couldn't help but feeling a twinge of jealousy even now at the way the Ancient had captured Cloud's heart in a way she never could. "I know he loved me. You can't go through what we did and not have love for each other. But he doesn't love me that way. And I think something finally clicked in me. That was a few months ago and I finally started feeling a bit better about the whole thing. So, I got away for a week. The kids are spending a week with Barret looking after the bar, and I gave myself time to just try and be me again. That sounds sooo lame." She finished with a groan. Reno couldn't help the laugh that burst from his lips as she said it.

"Hey, I said nothin'." His hands lifted in defense and Tifa smiled.

"You didn't have to. You were thinking it. Hell, I was thinking it."

"Alright, ya got me. Still surprised ya told me anythin' at all." Reno admitted. Tifa looked contemplative for a few moments.

"I haven't really spoken to anyone about it. But I guess with you I know you're not directly involved so as to be biased, but you know the situation. I dunno." She mumbled, he attention seemingly focused on removing the beer label, even as she remembered what Reno had told her the night before. His voice snapped her back to reality.

"I'm a little biased."

"What?"

"I think Spike is a fuckin' idiot for lettin' a girl like you go." He answered honestly. Tifa whirled to face him, her eyes wide. He was no longer tilted back against the couch. Instead, his body was slightly turned towards her, the arm outstretched along the back of the couch a lot closer than she remembered. Tifa swallowed as her her mouth dried up. She could see a spark in his eye that she remembered from last night.

"I don't..."

"Teef..." Reno said with a sigh. Her chest warmed a little as he used that nickname. "I know I barely know ya, despite everything. But I can honestly say the past 24 hours have been a blast for me. You're actually a lot of fun, not just counting when yer tanked up on whisky." He grinned slightly, joking to try and take the seriousness out of what he was saying. "And you don't even like me that much. But we've done a lot of laughin' and some other...fun stuff..." He wiggled his eyebrows and Tifa rolled her eyes, a faint smile appearing. "So if that's what spendin' time with ya is like for a guy ya only just started to not hate, I can only imagine what yer like to someone yer actually in love with." He finished, watching her to see how she would react. The warmth in Tifa's chest was now accompanied by a flutter. Reno had just been actually genuinely nice about her. Reno! She wondered if those beers weren't super strength and she was actually drunk and hearing things. It he was drunk and unaware of what he was saying.

Reno was still watching her as she chewed on her bottom lip, staring down at her bottle. His face fell. _Was that out of line? I was just bein' honest_. He wondered. He was about to speak again when Tifa suddenly put her hand on top of his, her fingers squeezing his gently. She looked up at him, and his own eyes flicked between her hand and her face.

"Thanks... Reno." A small smile appeared on her lips and she put her hands back in her lap before taking a long drink. Reno found his hand suddenly felt cold where hers had rested on top of his. He shook his head and drained the rest of his drink.

"Right, final question. This one is a biggy. Maybe even bigger than the last two." Reno lowered his voice, spreading his arms out wide to emphasis his point. Tifa raised an eyebrow as she watched him. "I'm serious. This is deep. Gelnika deep."

"Oh gods, what is it?"

"Do ya wish we'd... Y'know." Reno made a crude gesture with his fingers. Tifa let out a disgusted groan and flung the balled up label she had in her hand. She instantly regretted it as he caught it and his eyes widened. "Oh ho I am SO takin' that as a hell yeah!"

"Thats not what I meant!" Tifa spluttered, blushing so much that her ears turned red. She'd managed to keep the blushing to a minimum today but it seems that streak was over. Reno was laughing now, tossing the small ball in the air and catching it again, his smirk impossibly wide. He was taunting her with that label now. She watched the little ball for a few moments before putting her beer down on the table and holding her hand out towards him. "Give me it."

"You want me to give it to you?"

"Yes!"

"What, now?"

"Yes, now! Why would..."

"What, right here on the couch?"

"What do you-RENO!" Tifa finally clicked what he was getting at and she lunged at him, trying to wrestle the small ball out of his hand. Reno extended his long arm well out of her reach, laughter practically rolling out of him now. Tifa clambered over him, reaching for his outstretched hand as he practically vibrated with laughter beneath her, the blanket Tifa had been under trapped between them and clinging to various limbs. She finally grabbed hold of his hand and Reno shifted underneath her, knocking her legs out behind her and causing her to practically fall right on top of him. She cursed silently. _How does he do that?! One minute I'm sitting under the blanket, the next he's got me straddling him!_ She grumbled inwardly, her cheeks flushing with colour once again. Reno's laughter had died down slightly as he stared up at her, his eyes shining with mirth and mischief. Tifa thought there might actually be more mischief than Mako in him. She noticed her hand was still curled around his, her other arm propping her up slightly. Reno's free arm held his beer out over the edge of the couch almost lazily, one of his knees bent so that she was pressed between him and the couch. She let go of his hand and pushed herself up off him slightly, still staring at him. His grin was still wide and playful, but there was different emotion clear in his eyes now. Tifa's eyes flickered to his mouth as he slowly, obviously, ran his tongue along his top lip. She couldn't help but let out a small noise that was part annoyance, and part aroused. Hearing herself, she pushed herself off him completely and sat back against the arm of the couch. Reno stayed reclined, one arm folding behind his head as the other brought his beer to his mouth.

"Sayin' one thing but then actin' the opposite. Do you even know what you want, Lockhart?" He drawled before taking a drink. Tifa attempted to the pull the blanket back around herself, feeling slightly vulnerable, but it was still half tangled round Reno's legs. She instead grabbed a cushion and held it against her chest and stomach, as if to shield herself. "Relax, I won't jump yer bones unless ya ask real nicely."

"Ugh, you're so eloquent."

"Damn fuckin' right." He winked at her as he drained the last of his drink. Tifa couldn't help but notice he had drank a lot. His earlier comment about drinking when he wasn't sleeping came back to her mind. She shifted slightly where she sat.

"Reno?"

"Yeah?"

"You said you drink because you can't sleep. And earlier this morning...in bed..." Her blushed returned "You mentioned not sleeping great either. Does... does it have something to do with why you left Midgar?"

Reno froze, the cheeky and cheerful look on his face disappearing, and a darkness came across his eyes. He sat up and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. Tifa couldn't help herself as she leaned closed to him, tilting herself slightly so she could look at his face.

"Reno?"

"This doesn't leave this cabin." He said, his tone a clear warning as his eyes flicked to meet hers. Tifa realised she was holding her breath. She let it go as she nodded. Reno sighed and put his empty beer bottle down.

_She's been honest with me. Suppose the least I can do is do the same._

They sat in silence for what seemed like forever to Tifa. Reno was still hunched forward on the edge of the couch, his shoulders tense and his eyes fixated on nothing in particular. Tifa heard him take a deep breath before he started to speak.

"Y'know how I told you they had to put me into one of those Mako tubes after the fight at the pillar? Well, it doesn't just give ya crazy strength and glow sticks for eyes. It also gives you fuckin' crazy nightmares. 'Night terrors', is the name the doc gave them actually. They started off sparse enough, mebbe one a month. I just kinda ignored them, though I scared the shit out of Rude when we were on a mission that required staying in one cramped hotel room." Reno chuckled darkly. "When I woke up, he actually had his gun on me. I dunno if it was to put me out of my misery or because he was actually scared I'd hurt him. Really crazy shit. So anyway, you know how life went after that. We did our best to hunt you guys down, and at the same time, they started getting more frequent and more intense. I ain't scared of much, yo, but I woke up screamin' more often than I care to remember. It almost made me feel sorry for Sephiroth, cause if that's what he went through then no wonder he went fuckin' nuts." He rubbed his chin, the colours in his eyes flashed slightly, almost like there was a pulsing light behind his irises. Tifa searched his eyes, watching them spark and flare, but didn't speak. She didn't want to stop him now that he was actually speaking about it. Shaking his head slightly, he started speaking again.

"When Meteor was summoned, I basically went a bit haywire. I refused to sleep, I just stayed awake for days. One week I think I got about 2 hours of shut eye. I was totally frazzled, but hell if I was goin' to sleep. It got so bad Tseng actually sent me on vacation. In the middle of chasing down you guys. An actual fucking holiday. He sent Rude and Elena with me. He said we all deserved a break, but I know the boss. He wouldn't give all of his Turks time off at the same time when we were on the middle of a mission. Tseng was still laid up himself at the time too, which made it worse. They were sent to keep an eye on me, make sure I didn't do anythin' stupid. I was starting to hallucinate with the lack of sleep, talkin' to folk who didnt exist. Think he was worried I was gonna follow someone who wasn't there off a cliff." Reno shook his head again, and tilted his head towards Tifa, a wry grin on his face. "He would rather have three of us on holiday for a week than lose one of us for good. We didn't have the numbers we used to have back in the day."

"Did it help?"

"Taking a break? Yeah, it helped a lot. As soon as I stopped rushin' around and fightin' I managed to sleep a little better. Still not great, couple of nightmares, but nothin' too traumatising. When we got back to Midgar though they started again. I thought I was I gonna go insane. Tseng started keepin' me in on paperwork duty. I was a liability in the field. The last time I was out was when we ran in to you guys in the tunnels. I was actually relieved when we didn't actually have to fight 'cause I reckon Chocobo Head woulda finished me off." Reno tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "I reckon I woulda welcomed it by that point, mind you." Tifa couldn't take her eyes off him. In that moment, she could almost forget that Reno was a trained killer, one of the toughest human opponents she'd ever fought against. Right now he just looked tired, like he was exhausted just by telling her about it. His eyes opened but he kept staring straight ahead. They sat in silence for a bit. Tifa wasn't sure whether to reach out for him or whether to stay where she was. She didn't know if he wanted to tell her any more. She raised a hand to reach for him just as he let out a long breath with a sigh. She froze, not wanting to distract him. She was rewarded with more of his tale.

"Time just didn't exist anymore. I started hallucinatin' again, seeing things comin' after me even when I was awake. I almost didn't notice fuckin' Meteor coming to flatten Midgar. I still dunno how I helped clear the slums. I just remember wakin' up in a temporary hospital and being told Midgar was gone.

"Thing was, after that, they stopped again. The terrors or whatever the fuck they were. We helped to rebuild Edge and took care of Rufus. We were doin' good, actually helpin' people. It was weird but it's almost like slowin' down a little helped. I dunno, I ain't a fuckin' doc.

"Everything was hunky dory until the triplets showed up. The nightmares creeped back, and I started strugglin' to sleep again. I managed to get through the fight with those nut jobs but even when they'd gone, I still didn't feel right. About a week after they disappeared, shit reached breaking point. Rude and I were sharin' an apartment on the outskirts of Edge. I came to with my hands around his throat." Reno dropped his head and looked at his lap, his eyes narrow as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Tifa's hands slowly lifted to cover her mouth. Reno and Rude were partners. They probably shared more than even her and Cloud had, just through working together all day every day for so many years. There's only so much you could actually tell a person about yourself. Most of getting to know people was physically being in their presence. That's how Tifa felt, anyway. She felt her eyes beginning to water slightly and refused to blink, willing the tears not to fall. She had never heard pain in Reno's voice before, he was always cocky. But right now, the tone he spoke in almost broke her heart.

"He managed to get hold of the lamp beside his bed and he clocked me over the head with it. I woke up on the floor with him pinnin' me down, confused as fuck. He told me what had happened and I just got a flash of my hands around a neck, but it wasn't Rude's. I was hallucinating again, it was just this shapeless face but it was fuckin' terrifying. It made this unholy noise too. Can still hear it ringin' in my ears. That was the last straw. I had to get away from Midgar, from Edge. I nearly killed my fuckin' partner, who does that?" Reno practically growled, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. Tifa couldn't help but place her hand over his. He relaxed ever so slightly but his hands remained clenched tight. He made a small tsk sound before turning his head away from her.

"Turks gotta trust each other. We have each other's backs. What use is a Turk who may or may not kill his partner over a stupid fuckin' nightmare? Tseng wasn't gonna let me go, but I told him to give me a year, maybe two. If I didn't have a breakdown in that time, then I would come back."

"Have you had any more?" Tifa asked tentatively, almost scared to find out the answer. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to be scared of your dreams. She remember when she and Cloud fell into the lifestream and she had to help him find himself. That had been tough enough, but at least he had her with him. He hadn't been alone. Reno was alone in his own head. Reno gave her a noncommittal shrug.

"Eh. Once or twice. Hence why I tend to live outside of town. Only person I can hurt is myself that way. I still don't sleep too great, usually takes half a bottle of whisky at least so I can sorta pass out rather than fall asleep. It's weird, but havin' you sleeping next to me actually allowed me to sleep soundly for the first time in fuck knows how long." He kept his head turned away from her, but Tifa could see his ears turning red. She couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her lips as she gently squeezed his hand. Reno surprised her by bursting out into laughter. "How fuckin' pathetic, eh?"

"It's not pathetic. Not even a little." Tifa gripped him a little tighter as she leaned forward to try and catch his eye. She noticed he had closed his eyes at some point and before she could stop herself, she had reached up with her free hand to physically turn his face to meet hers. Reno opened his eyes when he felt her fingers on his jaw just in time to see Tifa lean forward and press her lips against his. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at her closed eyes, only inches from his. He noticed tear tracks down her cheeks. Reno lifted his hands to cradle her face, his thumbs wiping away the moisture on her cheeks as he closed his eyes. His heart pounded and his stomach felt like there was thousands of butterflies trying to escape. He hadn't opened up to anyone like that before. Even with Rude, although his ex-partner generally understood without Reno ever having to explain. He didn't know what had made him tell Tifa all that. Maybe because he felt like would actually get it? She'd been though hell herself. She had felt true fear too.

He felt her melt against him and he moved one arm around her waist, the other hand sliding up into her hair. She sighed softly against his mouth, her lips parting slightly. Reno slid his tongue slowly over her lips before deepening the kiss, pulling her even closer towards him. Tifa rose upon her knees, her hands sliding around his neck, her fingers teasing gently at the loose strands of hair that fell across his neck. She felt him growl low in his throat before it changed to a deep groan as Tifa pushed him back against the couch firmly, moving to straddle his lap as he moved his hands onto her lower back. She pressed herself against him as he slid his hands down over her rear, squeezing firmly. It was Tifa's turn to groan and gasp.

Reno's head spun. He had no idea where the sudden connection with Tifa had sparked from, but he needed her right now like he needed air. His heart ached with longing as he slid his hands back up so that he could pull her against him as tightly as he could, like he couldn't possibly get close enough to her. He couldn't help the soft moan that escaped his throat as she pulled back, her breaths coming hard and fast as they mingled with his. Her forehead rested against his, her large chocolate coloured eyes staring into his in a way like he felt she could see his soul. He brought one hand up to her cheek, his thumb rubbing back and forth over the smooth skin of her cheek. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips, and was relieved when she smiled back just as widely, her lips reddened with how hard she had kissed him. He shifted his hand and rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip slowly. Without so much as blinking, her eyes still firmly on his, Tifa slowly slipped her tongue out and over the top of his thumb before she closed her lips around it. Reno's eyes widened as she gently sucked on the tip of his thumb and he could not have held back the sound that came out of his mouth if he was paid a million Gil. It was halfway between a whimper and a groan. A soft purring noise seemed to radiate from Tifa's throat as she slowly, almost painfully slowly, released his thumb, but not before running her tongue over the rough fingertip once more. Reno grabbed her ass hard and she gasped as he leant forward almost whisper into her ear.

"Oh, Lockhart. You should not have done that."

* * *

AN ; Mega chapter is mega! I did have this split into two chapters but I didn't see the point really.

Okay. So obviously things are about to get rather steamy between our favourite redhead and Miss Lockhart. I have in fact written what happens next in all its lemony goodness. However. I do know that not everyone enjoys lemon and it would require me to put the rating up. I've done it in such a way that the entire chapter can be skipped by those not into it and they won't miss any storyline. I reckon you guys probably want it because let's face it, who doesn't enjoy a little smut? xD I will post both the next chapters together though so those who wish to skip it can do so!


	20. Tables Work Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aka 'The First Saucy Chapter'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.
> 
> AN: Consider this your warning!
> 
> This chapter contains descriptive sexual scenes. If this makes you uncomfortable, you can skip this chapter and miss no storyline! You have been warned

Reno captured her mouth with his, any tenderness now replaced with a burning lust that pooled in his groin. He lifted his hand to the back of her head, grabbing a fistful of her hair firmly but without causing her too much pain as he pulled her head against his, his tongue delving into the depths of her mouth. A soft whimper sounded in Tifa's throat and a dull ache throbbed below his waistband. He needed all of her, and he needed it right now. He needed to be in control. Tifa let out a small squeal, followed by a mischievous giggle as Reno shifted forward on the couch slightly, a smirk on his face so large his cheeks actually hurt. Tifa was perched on his lap now as he sat at the edge of the couch, his hands reaching for the bottom of her tshirt. _No, not her tshirt. My tshirt._ Reno thought with a groan and that dull low ache pulsed through him again. The fact that he was about to take HIS clothing off of her was probably the sexiest thing he could think of right now. He looked up at her as he tugged impatiently on the bottom of her tshirt. She realised he was asking for permission and she gave him a small nod as she slid her hands up over his arms. Reno lifted the tshirt almost slowly, the need to tease her only narrowly beating his need to tear her clothes off right there and then. She lifted her arms to help him get the tshirt off, as he slid it further upwards, allowing his fingertips to brush against her skin as he went. He paused slightly as the flash of coloured ink in her skin caught his attention. She squirmed in his lap, snapping his attention back to removing the clothing and Reno let out a low chuckle as she wriggled out of the garment. He tossed it aside and looked up at her again.

Any bashfulness Tifa had shown previously was now gone. She ran her hands back up along his arms before sliding them over his shoulders and down his sides to grab his own tshirt. She wasn't as slow to remove it and Reno could practically feel her impatience. If it was possible, it turned him on even more. She tossed his tshirt to the side and Reno took the opportunity to lean up and kiss along her jaw. Tifa's head tilted to give him better access, a low hum sounding in her throat. He trailed his lips down her neck, kissing and biting gently, encouraged by the soft sounds Tifa made as he moved. He eventually found himself at the edge of the red lace bra he had caught such a fleeting glance of the night before and he summoned all his willpower not to remove it right away. He figured it was the first thing most guys would do with Tifa, so he vowed to make it the last thing he did. Instead, he kissed along the top of her breasts, his tongue flicking out to taste her skin. Tifa moaned a little louder and Reno's arms encircled her waist as she rolled her hips, the hardness between his legs almost painful. He wanted to savour this, but he wasn't sure if he could hold back much longer. Reno knew he was an experienced lover, and he prided himself on making sure his partner was well and truly satisfied, but his lust for Tifa threatened to drown him.

Tifa gasped as Reno moved forward, tilting her back off the couch and pushing her backwards into the table, knocking empty bottles into the floor. He ignored the sounds, oblivious to anything but the soft gasps and pants passing over Tifa's lips. He leaned over her, his lips trailed down her toned stomach, stopping to dip his tongue into her belly button which earned him a squirm and a soft giggle. Reno grinned against her skin as he slid his hands up over her thighs to the waistband of the sweatpants she wore. He quickly undone the ties and hooked his fingers into the waistband, sliding them down over her toned thighs and off to reveal the matching panties he knew she wore. He flung the clothing to the side and dropped to his knees in the small gap between the couch and the table, his hands running up over her thighs to rest on her hips as he pulled her towards him until her her toes rested in the floor at either side of him. He could feel her trembling slightly as he followed the path his hands had travelled with his lips, her breathing now slightly ragged. Stopping at the red lacy material that hooked over her hips, he followed it down until he could feel the warmth between her legs beneath his lips. Tifa moaned and lifted herself off the table, her hands winding into the the crimson strands of hair atop the head nestled between her legs. Reno inhaled deeply as she pressed herself up against him, the scent of her arousal almost pushing him over the edge before he'd even got started. He held himself together and pressed his tongue flatly against her warmth through her panties, earning him another moan and her hips coming back up to meet him again. Reno sat up and bit his lip as he grabbed either side of her underwear, pulling them down off her legs in one swift motion.

"Fuck this. I'll take my time to enjoy you more the second time around." He growled as Tifa's face flushed slightly, her hips resting back down on the table as she leaned up to look down at him.

"Second time arou-Ahhhh Reno!" Tifa's question was cut off be her cry as Reno dropped his mouth back down between her legs, pressing the flat of his tongue against her and causing a shock of electricity from her crotch to the very tips of her fingers and toes. Tifa grabbed a fistful of his hair as he firmly ran his tongue across her most sensitive areas, interchanging between flicking and flat pressure. Tifa struggled to keep her hips still as jolt after jolt of pleasure ran through her. He wasn't kidding about that piercing, she managed to think, as the little hard spot of pressure ran over her folds at the same time his moist tongue covered a large area of sensation. She gasped his name again as Reno lifted her legs to settle them over his shoulders, his hands running up the backs of her thighs as he gave his mouth better access to the small sensitive nub nestled within her mound. Tifa's back arched, her hands grasping at the table now as he overloaded her with sensation. His fingers ran firmly up the skin on the back of her thighs, igniting a feral lust at the same time as his tongue caused her to melt into him. She felt a pressure building up just below her stomach as she called his name again, louder this time, and she could swear she felt him smile against her. Suddenly the sensations stopped before she could get release, and Reno pulled back and got to his feet. She would have cried out at him in frustration, if she hadn't leaned up to see where the hell he had gone and why the hell he'd stopped.

She was greeted by the sight of Reno straightening up from having removed the last of his clothing and her eyes widened. Despite being lean and tall, it suddenly became apparent why he was so cocky, no pun intended. Standing proud to attention between nearly trimmed red hair (which did match his head, as he had told her the night before) was a rather impressive erection. Length wise, it was only slightly above average, but the girth made Tifa stiffen and wonder how the hell she was going to manage this. It was at that moment that Tifa remembered a certain conversation from the night before and she noticed the glint of metal illuminated by the fireplace behind her. She bit her bottom lip as she looked at him, a dull ache between her legs as she craved to be filled despite her fear at both his width and the jewellery shining in the glow of the fire.

He knelt down to kiss her between the legs again and Tifa's head fell gently back against the table. As soon as she had relaxed and started squirming again, he trailed impatient kisses up over her hip, across her stomach and up and over her bra. Even though her head hummed with need, she noted that Reno had not done the first thing most guys tended to with her which was to remove her bra and pay 75% of the attention to her larger than average breasts. The thought was pushed away as she felt his hot mouth on hers, the taste of her own sex tangy on his tongue. Her arousal flared, made worse as he lowered his body to lie flat along hers which in turn caused his erection to press against her core. Tifa let out a low moan as Reno pulled back a little, and she opened her eyes to see him looking at her, panting heavily. She blinked in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"Believe it or not, I ain't got any condoms."

"Well it's a good job I'm on birth control and got the all clear two months ago. You?"

"I've never been so fuckin' happy to have visited the clinic before." He grinned widely as he captured her mouth again, reaching down between their bodies to line himself up with her opening. He hummed slightly as his tip was soaked with her moisture, the hum turning into a low groan as he gently pressed himself into her, moving slowly as she became accustomed to the width of him and the sensation of the cool metal rubbing along her warm inner walls. Tifa was panting now, her arms wrapped tightly around him, clutching at his shoulder blades as she silently begged him to fill her. Reno swore softly under his breath as propped himself on his forearms, sliding himself inch by inch until he was buried to the hilt. He paused for a moment, breathing heavily as he looked down at her. She stared back up at him through heavy lidded eyes, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

"If I hurt you, tell me." Reno muttered onto her lips, his eyes half shut. He wasn't big headed, but he was well aware that being thicker than most could cause discomfort if his lover wasn't fully aroused. Tifa shook her head gently.

"I'm fine Reno, I just... I need you." She begged softly, her hips lifting slightly. Reno brushed his lips against hers, smiling before he kissed her deeply at the same time he started moving his hips. He nibbled on her lower lip as he moved himself in and out of her slowly, teasing her as much as he could handle. Tifa gasped and moaned and writhed, the level of her arousal evident in the fact that his entire groin felt saturated with moisture. He moved his lips to her chin, running his tongue along her jawline until he was nibbling on her earlobe, tugging gently with his teeth. He prided himself on assaulting his partners senses, leaving them like jelly beneath him, but the way Tifa whimpered his name into his ear as she clutched at his arms was making it hard for him to concentrate on anything but the feeling of her core as it pulsed around him.

"Fuck." Reno hissed as he dropped his forehead onto her shoulder, his ministrations becoming a little faster and rougher. She clung to his shoulders, her hips writhing up to meet him as he thrust into her. He lifted himself slightly, angling his pelvis in a way that his thrusts weren't quite as deep but the friction against her clit and against the sensitive bundle of nerves around her opening made Tifa cry out instantly at the jolt of pleasure. Reno picked up the pace, egged on by the breathy moans and loud gasps that came from Tifa with every thrust. Her nails started to dig in a little deeper and her legs came up to wrap around his waist firmly. And Reno pulled his head back to look at her face.

That was his undoing. The colours in her eyes were practically dancing, and her kiss-swollen lips were moist and parted, coming together only to whimper his name over and over again, the volume increasing steadily as the pressure in her groin reaching breaking point. Tifa cried out and clutched at him almost desperately as her orgasm crashed over her in waves. Reno felt her pulsate around him and her legs tightened on him in a death grip and he lost all sense of time, his vision narrowing down to her eyes, her lips, the tops of her breasts as they heaved within her bra, the feeling of the iron grip around his waist and the gentler but still firm hold around his cock as her core pulsed with her orgasm. Reno came milliseconds after her, barely managing to groan out her name as he thrust furiously into her. She ran her fingers up into his hair, scratching along the base of his scalp which only added extra sensations to his orgasm, his body shuddering almost violently.

They were both panting heavily, struggling to catch their breath as the world came back into focus. Reno rested his forehead on her shoulder, and she rested her head against his. His forearms trembled as he fought to stop himself from completely collapsing on top of her, and her legs trembled with the pressure of holding on to him so tightly. Neither of them moved or spoke for an unknown amount of time, save for Tifa's fingers gently weaving their way through his hair. His ponytail had come undone at some point but neither of them knew when. Tifa couldn't help the low, satisfied hum that radiated from her, which caused Reno to pull back slowly to look at her. She opened her eyes halfway as he leant down to press a gentle but firm kiss to each corner of her mouth before he pressed his lips against hers, unable to contain his grin. Tifa smiled back against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck as a soft giggle left her. Reno pulled back again.

"Well... That.."

"Yeah." They both laughed at their nonsensical gibbering. Reno gave her another kiss before he gently removed himself from her, getting to his feet before he headed into the kitchen. Tifa squeezed her thighs together, suddenly very aware that she was spread mostly naked across the very table they had eaten off of earlier. She couldn't help her soft laugh as she covered her face with her hands, her smile so wide her cheeks hurt.

"Dear Holy, was it that good that you're delirious?" She could hear the amusement in his voice as he came back into the living room. She kept her hands over her face as her laughter threatened on the side of hysterical now. The build up of pleasure and its subsequent release had left Tifa feeling a little bit spaced. She managed to calm herself as she felt something land on her stomach. She opened her eyes and saw he'd given her a soft towel to clean herself with. She smiled at him gratefully as she sat up, gently wiping at the tender ache between her legs.

"I'm not delirious."

"But it was still that good?" He grinned as he sat back down on the couch, still completely nude. She reckoned that regardless whether they had sex or not, Reno seemed pretty comfortable with his body. Setting the towel aside, Tifa stood up and was subsequently pulled down on top of Reno as he tipped onto his back. She burst out laughing as she rested her hands on his chest, his smile lighting up his face as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm pretty sure you were there."

"Fuck yeah I was." His eyebrows disappeared up into his hairline. She noticed his goggles had also disappeared at some point. She slapped him gently in the chest and he laughed in return. She rested her head on his shoulder and settled against him. He stroked her hair gently as one arm stayed firmly around her. "Sorry I didn't pay ya as much attention as I usually would. Turns out I wanted you too badly to hold back." Tifa lifted her head and looked at him in disbelief.

"That was you NOT paying attention to me? Geez Reno. I think I might have imploded."

"Hah! Challenge accepted for round two."

"Round two?!"

"I did warn ya. But first of all-" Reno cut himself off as he wrapped his arms around her and sat up. She couldn't help the little yelp that left her mouth as he stood up, wrapping her legs around his waist as he slipped his hands under her thighs. Tifa giggled and hooked her arms around his neck. He started to walk towards the bedroom before Tifa stopped him with a raised finger. Reno stood still for a moment, easily holding her slight frame up as he regarded her with a raised eyebrow. Tifa reached behind her back and with a quick flick of her fingers, her bra loosened on her chest. Reno's mouth fell open as Tifa removed the straps from her arms one at a time and discarded the bra over his shoulder before pressing her now bare breasts against his equally bare chest as she wrapped her arms back around his neck. Reno's grin was ridiculous by this point.

"Tifa Lockhart, you are trouble." He purred as he carried her to the en suite, fully intending to clean her up before he did his best to get dirty again.

* * *

AN : My first lemon. My mother would be so proud xD. Urm, let me know if you liked it!


	21. Feeling Fresh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mindless fluff is fun, yes?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.
> 
> AN: This is warning for you guys. There is some lime-y goodness in here so I've put it behind a line break so you can skip it if you want. Again, I've written this in a way that if you skip it, you won't miss any important points. There will be another line break to let you know when that stuff is finished :)

Tifa's face hurt from smiling. After they'd had rather enjoyable sex on the thankfully sturdy table in the living room, Reno had carried her through to the bedroom and tossed her into the bed playfully. He didn't join her right away however, instead he headed into the en suite and closed the door behind him. Tifa heard the sound of rushing water and assumed he was washing up, although he had left her rather abruptly. She was starting to doze off when he returned, saying nothing as he casually picked her up again. Tifa squealed slightly as she was suddenly swept up against his chest as he carried her almost lazily into the bathroom. She noticed that he'd ran a bubble bath and was a little perplexed. She wasn't used to having a bath actually ran for her after sex, not did she think of Reno as the kind of person to have anything to hand with which to run a bubble bath. Her musings were cut short and she grasped his neck tightly as he unexpectedly lifted a leg and stepped into the bath with her still in his arms. She couldn't help but laugh as he sat down, shifting her slightly so she was on his lap, her legs hanging over the edge of the tub. His own legs were bent so she was cradled slightly against his chest. He grinned widely at her, seemingly nonplussed by the fact that the water almost overflowed.

"Well, this is unexpected." Tifa raised an eyebrow with a small smile, her arms loosening slightly around his neck although she didn't let go completely. Reno shrugged and stretched one arm along the rim of the tub, his hand resting on one of the legs.

"I ain't tired yet. It's still early and I figured we could probably both use a proper wash after the last few days." He smirked slightly. Tifa realised she hadn't showered since before she left her hotel the day before. She was suddenly more grateful for his thoughtfulness.

"That's true I guess. I've never shared a bath with someone before."

"Really? Hell, that's just sad!" Reno exclaimed. He scooped a handful of bubbles and stuck it to the end of her nose, laughing. "I admit the bubbles ain't my usual touch. 'Lena sends me a little care package now and again and this one came with some crazy bath shit. I thought it was weird at first but I guess it's come in handy." He explained, answering her unasked question. He lifted another handful of bubbles and placed them on top of her head. Tifa laughed and let go of his neck, giving him his own bubble crown. He grinned widely and added more to her head, causing them to start spilling down onto her shoulders. Tifa retaliated by blowing a handful into his face. He laughed as the blob of foam stuck to his cheek. "Always gotta take it too far, eh Lockhart."

"You started it. I'm merely finishing it." She said matter of factly as she started to sculpt the foam on his face into a bubble beard. Reno realised what she was doing and applied a rather spectacular bubble moustache to Tifa's face. They both stared at each other's handy work and laughed.

Once the the bubble sculpting had grown old, Reno shifted Tifa round so she was lying with her back against his chest, her hips resting between his legs. Tifa rested her head back against him, silently blaming the hot water for the slight flush in her cheeks as Reno ran his hands up her arms and onto her shoulders. Sweeping her hair back over to one side with his right hand, he let his left hand gently massage her shoulder and neck as she sighed softly, the bubbles making them slick so that his fingertips travelled over her skin with ease. He settled back against the tub, looking down at the top of her head as she tilted slightly to give his hands better access. The bubbles covered most of her body from view, which allowed him to concentrate on massaging her gently as his mind wandered.

He didn't really know why he'd decided to get in the bath with her. He figured while they were both trapped in the cabin ( _Damn, I meant to called Josh back to get an ETA on our rescue_ ) and he really wasn't ready to sleep yet. He felt like he'd just scratched the surface with Tifa, and if this was their only night together, he wanted to make sure he used the time wisely. _Damn. She goes home tomorrow. The company has been kinda nice. And the sex..._ Reno couldn't remember the last time he felt need like that. To have someone right there and then. Sure, he'd felt drunken lust whenever he'd stumbled home with a one night stand after a night of drinking and flirting, but they had just been sitting in the couch talking. _Alright, some flirtin'. But mostly on my part than hers._

Reno continued to muse over the girl that lay atop him as his hands slid down her arms, noting her hands were lightly resting on his bent knees. He prided himself on his abilities in bed, honed with experience from spending time paying attention to other people's bodies and how they reacted to his touch. He felt a little annoyed that he didn't get to explore Tifa's body as much as he would have liked to due the worry that he would have reached his release before he'd fully satisfied her. That was NOT how he wanted their first encounter to go, so he had gotten down to the main act earlier than he would have preferred. He decided now was a good time to expand on his knowledge of her body.

* * *

He let his fingers gently slide down to her elbows before they made the subtle transition to her waist. He heard her hum softly as one hand stayed holding her waist, the other sliding down to play over the curve of her hip. She squirmed slightly as his fingers trailed gently over the very top of her thigh before it traveled up her stomach. The lubrication of the water along with the bubble liquid made her skin feel impossibly smooth and slick, and Reno could feel his desire for her slowly igniting again. He let his hand move across the delicate and sensitive skin under her bust and he heard her giggle slightly, his lips quirking into a grin. He tickled her again for good measure before his fingertips moved up the centre of her chest. He felt Tifa holding her breath as his touch lightly ghosted over her collarbone before he finally gave in to the urge to move his hand down over her breast. He had noticed with heavier chested girls like Tifa that it was sometimes best to ignore the obvious unless encouraged otherwise. In the past, he could practically feel big busted girls roll their eyes if he paid too much attention to their breasts, or made it his first port of call during foreplay. As a result, he had deliberately ignored Tifa's chest despite the fact he had been aching to see how she reacted to stimulation there.

His ministrations were rewarded with a soft moan from Tifa as he gently massaged and caressed. They felt surprisingly pert, and Reno decided he wanted to pay them more attention when they were back on dry land again as it were. As he massaged and stroked the small, erect nub at the peak of her breast, Tifa moaned again and he felt her hips move under his other hand. Taking the subtle hint, he allowed the lower hand to slide across her stomach and down between her legs. His guess that she had wanted him to touch her there was rewarded with her body coming to life, responding to his touch and moving in such a way as to encourage both hands to keep up what they were doing. He didn't disappoint her. Reno wondered how long it had been since someone had paid physical attention to her, but it didn't diminish the swell of male pride he felt as he caused her to writhe against him with pleasure. He felt stirrings between his own legs as she pressed against him but he decided this one was all about her. Reno let his head drop slightly as he closed his eyes, burying his mouth and nose against the damp hair at the top of her head. Tifa's hands had slid down his thighs and his teeth clenched with a soft growl as he fought the urge to encourage her touch to move further down.

 _You've got all night, Reno. No need to be selfish now._ He chastised himself as he refocused his efforts on Tifa. It didn't take long for his hands to work their magic as she came apart on top of him, his name on her lips as her breath came out ragged. Reno grinned into her hair before he placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head. He felt her relax completely against him before she caught him by surprise as she interlinked her fingers with his. Usually hand holding was considered a bit too intimate for Reno's taste, but it had been a strange couple of days.

* * *

After Tifa had slowed her breathing and calmed down from her Reno-induced high, she noticed he was instantly playful again despite the fact it had been a purely selfish experience for her and he had to be feeling a little sexually frustrated. He insisted they wash each other, but it mostly became a bubble fight with the occasional splashing. Tifa tried not to notice that the tile floor was soaked by the time they were done. Reno didn't seem like the type to care about a little mess, especially if said mess had been caused by having fun. As if to prove her point, he got up and stepped out the bath and disappeared into the bedroom before returning with two large fluffy towels. Tifa pulled the plug in the bath to let it drain before she stood up and took one of the towels from him wrapping it around herself as she gingerly stepped out. Reno had retired back into the bedroom to dry himself off, giving her a bit of privacy to sort out her thoughts.

Her skin felt hypersensitive and flushed, her body practically humming with a satisfied happiness. If you'd told her two days ago she would be spending her Saturday night with Reno she would have accused you of insanity. And if you'd told her what they'd done, or how he would make her feel, she would have thought it was the third coming of Sephiroth-styled madness. She wrapped the towel around herself and leaned over the sink, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her damp hair clung to her bare shoulders., framing her face. Her cheeks were tainted pink and her lips still looked a little kiss-swollen and red. Her eyes sparkled as she gave her reflection a small smile. This was not something she saw coming, but she couldn't deny how amazing she felt. The redhead had taken more time with her than any man ever had, Cloud included. He had been sweet and careful with her, but she had never felt that he had ever had that kind of desperate lust for her. She frowned a little. She had chased Cloud for years, yet now she found that he couldn't compare when it came to making her feel wanted in return. _How have I gotten to the point where Reno compares to Cloud? Did I hit my head on the slopes and this is all some crazy dream?_ She bit her bottom lip slightly. She had felt like a carefree young woman for the first time in almost a decade. She knew everything would change when she had to go home tomorrow, but for now she was going to enjoy this little bubble of... whatever this was. She gave her reflection a decisive nod and headed to stride out of the bathroom. As she reached the door though, a bit of her confidence faltered and she peeked her head out to see where Reno was.

He had put the lamp on, giving the room that soft warm glow, and she spotted him lying in bed. His eyes were closed and he had his arms crossed behind his head. The duvet lay crumpled and low around his waist, leaving his top half bare. His damp hair, a deeper shade of crimson than it was when it was dry, lay sprawled across the pillow behind him. She couldn't help but smile to herself.

"Are you gonna come to bed or are you gonna just stand there watching me like a pervert?" One eye cracked open as Reno called over to her, laughter in his voice. She squeaked slightly, unaware that he'd even heard her opening the bathroom door. She crossed the room, her bare feet padding delicately across the floor.

"Urm. Where will I leave my towel?" She asked nervously. Despite everything that had happened already in the evening, she still felt a bit nervous about disrobing in full view of him. Reno's eyes had drifted closed again, as if he knew her shyness had returned.

"Just leave it on the floor at the foot of the bed. I'll deal with it tomorrow." He replied. Tifa coudn't stop herself from folding the towel up and placing it neatly on the floor. She felt weird just discarding it there, but she didn't want to be wandering around naked trying to find somewhere better to leave it. She slipped into the bed, assuming he wanted her to lie beside him. She lay on her side facing him, her hand resting on the space between them and covering her chest slightly. Reno cracked an eye open again and looked at her, the ever-present lazy grin spreading a little wider on his face. He extended the arm closest to her, snaking it under her shoulders and pulling her against his side. Tifa blushed slightly and rested her hand on his chest, her head nestled in the crook of his arm. She found herself snuggling a little closer as her smile widened a little. Even if this was just for tonight, she was gonna enjoy every minute of it.

* * *

AN: Just mindless fluff really xD Nah, I wanted to do something like this rather than them just falling asleep together, leaving Tifa to wake up the next morning with all those what-ifs and possible regrets. I figure if Reno paid a bit more attention to her, she wouldn't feel like it was just a crazy spur of the moment thing. Hope it worked!


	22. Silver Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little tenderness creeps in...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

They lay in silence for a while, just listening to the rhythmic breathing of one another. Tifa watched her hand rise and fall on his chest as she wondered what he was thinking. She didn't know herself what this was between them, if anything. She was curious if he felt the same. She didn't want to come across as some typical clingy girl though. She wasn't even sure if she wanted anything else other than one night anyway. She slid her hand down to his hip, to the beginning of the scar he had shown her before. The duvet was lying far enough down that his hips were visible along with the thin trail of red hair that started just below his navel. She blinked and wondered how she hadn't noticed that before, but figured she had been so transfixed but the scar that anything else hadn't really registered. Slowly she trailed her fingers up, following the scar in the same way she had the night before, with more confidence in her touch this time. Reno squirmed a little and she stopped her hand. His own fingers traced small circles on her shoulder.

"Ya don't hafta stop. Just tickles a bit is all."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. Feels nice. Same as it did last night, although we were both a lot less naked then." He pointed out, his voice coming out like a purr. Tifa continued tracing his scar as she smiled.

"Yeah. Did not see this coming."

"Me neither. Though I sure as hell hoped it would." Reno admitted. Tifa lifted her head and craned her neck slightly to look at him. He was still lying with his eyes closed, but as she moved he opened them to look down at her.

"Did you?"

"You are brutally hot, Tifa. I'd be an idiot not to wanna have you naked in my bed." His grin took on a cat-that-got-the-cream quality. Tifa shifted up to lean on her elbow so she could look down on his face slightly. His hand trailed down to rest on her lower back. "Though I gotta say, I don't think my attraction for you is just 'cause yer smokin'." He added almost lazily as his fingers gently tickled her skin, causing goosebumps to raise on her skin. She looked down at the hand of hers that still rested on his chest.

"Really?"

"Fuck yeah." He reached over with his free hand to take hold of her chin gently, turning her head back to face his. "I already told ya I've had a lot of fun bein' trapped in here with you. I reckon I'd be goin' mad if I was stuck in here myself."

"Pretty sure you could have had this kind of fun with any girl." Tifa said airily, trying to be nonchalant and ignore the fact that Reno was basically telling her that it was maybe more than just physical for him. She was scared if she acknowledged that, she would have to realise it had been more than that for her too. Reno shook his head as he let his hand fall to rest on hers atop his chest.

"Nah. The naked stuff, yeah to an extent. I coulda had sex with someone else to entertain myself for a while. But that's only been a small part of it. Trust me Tifa, there is no-one alive or dead on this Planet that I would rather be lyin' in bed with right now."

Tifa let her eyes drop to their hands as Reno interlocked his fingers with hers, her heart fluttering slightly at his words. Did he really mean that? She felt a little embarrassed and sought to change the subject. She could feel him watching her and she bit her lip slightly, trying to will away the butterflies in her stomach. She looked down at his stomach. He was lean with a slim waist, his ab muscles rippling under his skin and seemed to be accentuated by the dull light in the room. Tifa had a pretty impressive stomach herself, but that didn't stop her appreciating his body. Her gaze traveled down to where his scar began and she saw that he also had a subtle V of muscle below his navel, leading down to under where the duvet lay. She knew what lay beneath there already and she felt a sudden ache between her legs, but not one of pain or discomfort. She shifted slightly, trying to forget about the sudden flush of arousal. When she managed to pull her mind back out of the gutter, she noticed that the large scar he had was not alone. His torso was like a road map, covered in silver lines in varying lengths and widths. A small gasp escaped her throat as she gently un-linked her hand from his and started to trace some of the marks with her fingers.

"There's so many..." She drifted off, seemingly fascinated. Reno chuckled slightly.

"Yeah. More people have knives than guns in the slums. And I wasn't always as good at fightin'. Always quick, though. Some of them are my own fault from squeezin' though small gaps and jumping off buildings into the unknown."

"Why does that not surprise me."

"You ain't exactly got off scott-free yourself." He pointed out, taking her hand in his again and turned it so he could look at her knuckles. They stood out on her otherwise delicate hands, enlarged from being broken and hardening over and over, covered in small scars. Rude's hands looked similar. Tifa watched him pull her hand up to his mouth and kiss each knuckle. She felt her face heating up again. He kept surprising her with little intimate gestures like that.

"Reno..." She almost whispered as he placed a final kiss on the back of her hand. She was about to speak again when he surprised her by suddenly sitting up, his grin turning mischievous. She let out a yelp as he pulled her closer, causing her to drop back onto her back.

"While we're playing the exploring game..." He trailed off, a playfulness to his voice. He moved on his front, scootching down so his head was in line with her stomach as he propped himself up on his elbow. She felt his hand move over her skin just below her bust, the callouses on his hands giving his touch just enough roughness for it to feel far from innocent. He started tracing shapes in her skin and she realised he was tracing her tattoo. She looked down at him, but he was staring at her stomach intently, obviously paying attention to the details. The design started off with reds, oranges and yellows, but the tail feathers finished off with teals, pinks and purples. He was tracing every line, reminding Tifa of how it had felt to have done. It had been painful, but Tifa was always good at managing pain so she had managed to sit still during the process. Reno's touch tickled rather than cause discomfort though, and she squirmed a little. He suddenly looked up at her, his wicked grin returning. "This is seriously sexy, Lockhart. You know how hard it was to keep my hands off this last night?" Reno informed her. He had never had the free time to dedicate to actually getting and caring for tattoos himself, but he found them extremely attractive, especially when they were well done and accentuated the wearer's body. Seeing the bright ink against Tifa's pale skin just screamed for him to touch it. He ran his fingers over it again before pressing his lips to the centre of the design, his hot breath earning a small gasp from her. He grinned against her skin before he pulled back slightly. He turned his attention to the reason she had gotten the tattoo. The slightly jagged and wide pale scar wound its way down her torso between her breasts, and as soon as she realised he was looking at it she squirmed again, but this time he could tell if was from discomfort. He pressed his lips back against her skin, covering every inch of the scar. By the time he was done, her breath had quickened slightly and he looked up at her to see her staring at him with heavy lidded eyes.

"I know it's... ugly." She breathed, almost as if she was apologising for it. Reno frowned slightly and shifted up the bed to press his lips against hers, mustering as much passion as he could in a single kiss. When he pulled away, Tifa's head came forward as if to try and prolong the contact. He grinned a little.

"There is nothin' about you that's ugly, Lockhart. Especially not this. He ran his fingers down the scar, making her shiver. "We practically match."

"I guess. I know most guys don't like seeing girls all scarrred up."

Most guys are fuckin' idiots." Reno managed to growl before he kissed her fiercely again, trying to rid her mind of any thoughts that she was imperfect because of her scars. This was obviously something Tifa had been told in the past and for some reason, it enraged Reno more than he cared to admit. If most guys couldn't see that she got this scar from surviving an attack at the hands of one of the greatest warriors who'd ever lived, they were not worth her time or her thoughts. As Tifa wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with equal passion and pulling him over on top of her, he decided there and then that they weren't going to sleep tonight. He was going to spend the night making her feel like her body was the most desirable thing on the Planet, scars and all. Especially her scars, in fact. He wanted her to feel like he'd never wanted anyone more than he wanted her. He was an expert at making his lovers feel like they were the very centre of the universe to him for a night.

He pushed back the little voice in his head that smirked at him that it wouldn't require any acting on his part right now to believe that she was that for him right now. And maybe not just for tonight.


	23. The Beginning Of The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was all going so well, and then your partner showed up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Tifa was first to wake the next day. She had no idea what time they had finally fallen asleep after what was hands down the most passionate night Tifa had ever had with anyone. Memories of the night flooded her head along with a dull ache between her legs. She sat up slowly in bed, noticing the lamp was still on. As a result, she could clearly make out Reno fast asleep beside her. He was lying on his front, his arms stretched up under the pillow with his head facing away from her. A smile crept across her face as she watched him for a few more seconds before she slipped out of bed. She had no idea what time it was and she was loathe to leave the warmth of the bed, but the call of nature couldn't be ignored any longer. After she was done, she left the bathroom and creeped through to the livingroom where she tried to source her clothes. She had forgotten that they had been removed in the heat of the moment and were thrown here and there. She decided not to put her underwear back on since she had already worn it longer than she would have liked, slipping the tshirt and sweatpants back onto her naked body. She wondered if Reno would mind if she washed her things and dried them before she left. She felt a small pang of disappointment in her chest as she thought about heading back to her hotel. She tried to push it away as she collected her delicates and headed into the spare room to grab her jeans. She searched for her sweater before she remembered that Reno had taken it off her when she had been too drunk to undress herself. She rolled her eyes at herself and attempted to creep back into the bedroom silently to find her clothing. It was pointless though, Reno stirred as soon as she came back into the room.

"I hope that's you comin' back to bed." He drawled, his voice still thick with sleep. Tifa located her top and picked it up, smiling.

"Actually, I was going to wash my things if that was ok. So I have something to head home in when we get out."

"I kinda hope we're trapped in here for another day." Reno smirked, rolling onto his back ad stretching like a cat. She laughed at him as he made some small squeaky noises at the apex of his stretch before he sighed contentedly. "But hell, I suppose ya gotta wash them sometime."

Reno dragged himself out of bed and headed into the bathroom. Tifa headed into the kitchen to wait for him. By the time he joined her after pulling on some clothes of his own, she had a coffee in her hands which she was sipping at with a satisfied smile. He led her to the garage that he'd mentioned earlier through a door in the spare room. She was able to hand wash her underwear and shove the rest of her stuff in the machine. One she was done she headed back to the living room where Reno was reclined on the couch, dozing. She wondered how he managed to be sleeping again less than an hour after they had woken up. She leaned on the back of the couch, looking down at him for a few moments before one eye creaked open.

"You sure like watchin' people sleep, Lockhart."

"I can't believe you're actually trying to sleep again."

"Hey, I had a tirin' night." He grinned widely. Tifa opened her mouth to reply but didn't get a chance as Reno sat up and grabbed her, hauling her over the couch to pull her on top of him.

"Reno! Gods, you could have just have asked!" She scolded as she sat up a bit to look down at the smiling redhead beneath her.

"Where's the fun in that?" His eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned up towards her. She rolled her eyes before she pressed her lips against his. Reno's arms slipped around her, one hand disappearing under the tshirt to slide up her spine. Upon noticing she hadn't put her bra back on, he grinned against her lips and slid his other hand down under her clothes in the other direction, his eyes widening as his fingertips met with the smooth unclad flesh of her rear. He gave it a little squeeze and Tifa laughed slightly. He pulled her flush against him and deepened this kiss, his hands wandering under her clothes as he clearly decided that last night hadn't been enough. She felt herself starting to melt against him when there was a knock at the door. She pulled back and they stared at each other for a moment, before they both looked at the door, then back to each other. Reno reluctantly removed his hands with a groan and Tifa sat up and moved back on the couch to let Reno stand up

"Was that...?"

"Sure sounded like it. And it better be fuckin, important" Reno grumbled as he got up. He went to the door and opened it. Tifa looked over the edge of the couch in his direction. She noticed that she was actually light coming in now and she heard Reno laugh. "Well, fuck, partner. No phonecall first?"

"When did that ever matter?"

"Well I might not be alone."

"It's 2pm. Who would still be around to put up with your terrible patter til this late in the day?"

Tifa listened to to the exchange and felt a bit of panic welling up inside her. She knew that voice, and all of sudden she felt very vulnerable getting caught red handed before she'd had some time on her own to figure out what the last two days had actually meant to her. Should she hide? Would Reno care? She didn't have time to make a decision before Reno walked back into the room, his hands shoved in his pockets. He stopped and turned to acknowledge their visitor.

"Rude, you remember Tifa right?" He jokingly reintroduced them. The stoic bald Turk entered the room, closing the front door behind him quietly, and looking over in her direction. He raised an eyebrow slightly but otherwise his expression didn't change. Instead he turned to Reno.

"Do I even want to ask?"

"That depends. How many details d'ya want?" Reno joked. Tifa's face felt like it was on fire and she was grateful when Rude raised a hand.

"I was implying that you were holding her here against his will, not that. Try and have a bit of decorum, Reno."

"Oh yeah, 'cause I'm well known for that shit." Reno scoffed as he flung himself onto the couch beside Tifa and nonchalantly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Tifa gave Rude a timid smile as he walked round to sit on the other end of the couch from them.

"I, uh, got lost on the slopes and ended up stuck. Reno found me and brought me back here to clean off. Then we got snowed in." Tifa summarised. Rude simply nodded, his hands clasped together as he rested his elbows on his knees.

"I come to check in with Reno every few months. Just to keep him up to date since he's on vacation at the moment."

"Rude, she knows. No need to try and skirt round the details." Reno said with a lazy wave of his hand. Rude's eyebrows lifted and he glanced at Tifa, obviously surprised that Reno had shared his situation with her. She nodded a little before she got up off the couch.

"I gotta go see to my clothes. They need to go in the dryer." She made her excuses and headed out to the garage to give Reno and Rude time to talk. It wasn't really an excuse, she really did need to see to her garments. But Rude turning up had popped her little bubble and she needed to sort her feelings out about what came next. She transferred her clothes into the dryer, biting her bottom lip slightly as she looked around the room. She noticed a large fridge in the corner and opened it, finding the beer she hoped she would. She had it open and half of it drained in record time as she leaned back against the fridge. What would Rude think of finding her shacked up with Reno? And she was wearing his clothes to boot, with probably a severe case of bed head. She thought back to what they were doing before he knocked in the door and was suddenly grateful that he knocked instead of just walking in. She covered her face with her free hand and groaned. It was like being caught by a parent. Still, Reno hadn't seemed too fussed. But then not much rattled the redhead.

She waited in the garage while she finished her beer, then she paced for another ten minutes before she realised she was going to have to go out and face the music sooner rather than later. When she re-emerged she was surprised to see Rude was nowhere to be seen. Reno was reclined on the couch but he sat up so he could look over at her.

"Thought ya got lost out there. You ok?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Tifa tried to shrug nonchalantly.

"Fine. Just making sure everything was clean enough. Where's Rude?"

"He left. We're gonna catch up later. He figured now that we're free you'd probably be headin' soon so he gave us a bit of time together." Reno explained. He patted the space beside him and Tifa wandered over hesitantly before sitting down beside him. Reno noticed she left a bit of space between them and he frowned. "You sure yer ok?"

"Huh? Yeah. Of course I am. Why?"

"Well yer sittin' all the way over there for a start." Reno spread his arms to exaggerate the space between them, and not just the literal space. Tifa sighed slightly and pulled her legs up under herself.

"I'm sorry. I just... I felt like we were in this little alternate reality bubble and seeing Rude just reminded me that normality had to come back eventually." She fiddled with the hem of her tshirt. Reno reached over and intertwined one of his hands with hers, making her look up at him. His aquamarine eyes were staring right at her, all mischief gone.

"Tifa. Do you regret what happened?"

"No! But... It was never going to be forever, was it?" She tried to play it cool but she noticed Reno's eyebrows lift almost into his hairline. "I mean, you just saw this as a one night thing, didn't you?" She noticed Reno didn't answer right away and she could have sworn she saw a flash of emotion cross his face before his lazy grin spread across his face. Was he hurt?

"Sure, Lockhart. Just wanted to show ya how a real man is in bed." He teased wth a wink, although it was lacking the conviction she was used to hearing. He jumped up off the couch, almost a little too quickly, stretching his arms above his head.

"Reno?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you... I mean. Did you...?" Tifa didn't know how to finish those sentences he looked down at her with that lopsided smile of his.

"Relax, Tifa. It's been an interestin' and hella fun two days but I haven't fallen in love with ya just yet." His tone was playful, but Tifa noticed him shifting in his feet slightly. _Just yet? Why did he word it like that? Did Reno want to see me again?_ Tifa's head spun. She was about to question him again when he stalked off in the direction of the spare room.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna get a shower. You can grab one after me, then I'll walk ya into town. The hire place usually ain't open on a Sunday but I'll phone the owner ahead and explain the situation. Rude is in the town bar anyway so I'll go meet him when you're on yer way." Reno's voice trailed off as he disappeared into the room, his tone a little too chipper. Tifa sagged into the couch, a dull ache in her chest. She knew she had to get back, she was supposed to check out of her hotel two hours ago and she knew they'd only keep her stuff safely locked away for a finite amount of time. She also knew that she couldn't spend the rest of her days frolicking around in bed with a certain ex-Turk. But the fact that the time to leave was almost here upset her more than she wanted to admit even to herself.

Tifa was still sulking on the couch when Reno walked out, a towel round his waist and another smaller towel in his hands as he attempted to dry off his hair.

"S'all yours. Towels are in there."

"Um. Thank you." She mumbled as he disappeared into his own bedroom. The bedroom they'd woken up in together earlier, surrounded in an afterglow only achieved after a night like the one they'd had. Tifa sighed and headed into the en suite in the second bedroom, disrobing and stepping into the shower. As she washed her hair, her mind raced. This had been the equivalent of a holiday romance, right? She was being ridiculous to think Reno would want to see her again in that way. After all, she still lived in Edge and he lived here. It was ridiculous that she was even thinking about this. Reno was a well known womaniser, regardless of the fact that he obviously took very good care of his lovers. She was probably just a conquest to him. She frowned as she rinsed her hair off. It hadn't just felt like a conquest to her, but maybe the lust filled haze had made her think he'd been behaving a certain way when he hadn't. He'd opened up to her a lot, but maybe it was because he knew he wouldn't see her again any time soon.

By the time Tifa shut the shower off and stepped out to dry herself, her head actually hurt from over thinking so much. She dried off and realised with a groan that she had no clean clothes to change into. The thought had barely left her mind when she stepped out and saw her clothes, dry and folded, on the the edge of the spare bed. Reno must have collected them for her while she was showering. A ghost of a smile crept across her lips and she shook her head to get rid of it. She dressed in her jeans and sweater, sighing slightly as she missed the comfortable material of the clothing Reno had leant to her. She also noticed that her clothes smelt almost funny for some reason. She realised with some degree of horror that she was missing the fact that they didn't smell of Reno. She had well and truly lost her mind.

Scoffing at herself, she left the room and spotted Reno in the hallway. He was pulling on his warm layers, obviously eager to get going. She felt her heart sink a little as she walked over to meet him. She noticed his grin was present but it didn't crinkle the corners of his eyes like it usually did.

"I cleaned off some of the gore from your waterproofs as best I could." Reno spoke before she had a chance to, holding up her outer garments. She noticed that he had in fact done a reasonably good job of cleaning them up. She gave him a small smile of gratitude.

Once they were both sufficiently wrapped up, they left the cabin. Tifa noticed that a small tunnel had been dug in to give access to Reno's front door but the majority of the cabin was still engulfed in snow, which is why no light had made it in the windows. There were still men with various diggers attempting to clear snow around his cabin and she looked at him, amazed that so much effort had been put into rescuing them so quickly. Reno shrugged and mumbled something about Turk privileges but otherwise didn't say much as he walked her to the hire store, which now had two snowmobiles parked outside. Reno had obviously called ahead whilst she'd been showing and the owner simply handed him a set of keys with a gruff warning not to wreck 'this one'. Once they walked outside, Tifa's curiosity got the better of her.

"What did he mean by that?"

"Sorta wrecked a snowmobile. Or two. Well, it was actually five."

"You wrecked five snowmobiles." Tifa didn't know why she struggled to believe it. Maybe the was the fact that the hire place only had six racks outside, meaning he'd destroyed nearly all of them.

"Hey, I paid for the damages. He ended up gettin' upgrades in fact! I actually did him a favour." Reno snorted, heading over to the blue and white snowmobile parked out front. Tifa couldn't help but smile behind her scarf.

"I'm surprised he let you hire any more."

"I told him I'd upgrade them all again if I smashed this one up." Reno's eyes twinkled slightly, the closest to his usual self Tifa had seen him since Rude had arrived. Tifa blinked a few times as Reno flung his leg over the mobile and out the keys in the ignition before turning them, bringing it to life.

"Um. Reno?"

"I told him I'd just drop you off and bring it right back. Another condition." He explained as he patted the space behind him. Tifa looked at him nervously, wondering just how he had wrecked the others.

"No crazy stunts, okay?" Tifa warned him as she climbed on behind him, secretly pleased that she got to spend a little bit more time with him.

"No promises." Reno chuckled with a hint of glee as he revved the engine and took off.

* * *

AN : Awww the holiday romance is nearly over! And Tifa has jumped to a lot of conclusions but it didn't seem like Reno intended on calling it quits quite so soon! If only they would just communicate properly...


	24. Who Throws A Snowball, Honestly?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never trust a redhead Turk with the controls to a snowmobile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

To say the journey was entertaining would perhaps have been a bit loose and fast with the word 'entertaining'. When Tifa had hopped onto the back of the snowmobile, she rather enjoyed looping her arms loosely round Reno's waist and sitting pressed against him for the sake of closeness. By the time they reached Icicle Inn, it was a necessary death grip to avoiding flying off into the snow at great speeds. She had almost lost her bobble hat fourteen times and was extremely grateful that she still had her goggles from snowboarding to protect her eyes. By the time they pulled up at the entrance to the small ski village, Tifa was frazzled. She honestly didn't know how it had been possible for him dodge so many trees at that speed, yet they were in one piece. Reno pulled the keys from the ignition and made to get up before he realised Tifa was still clinging to him like a limpet on a rock. Seeing a blatant opening for a bit of mischief, he gripped her forearms as he leaned forward so she lifted onto his back slightly. He heard a slightly muffled squeak as he stood up, Tifa hanging off his back and squirming slightly. He grinned as he managed to get off the snowmobile with Tifa still on his back, her legs wrapping around his waist to keep herself from falling off. Laughing, Reno started walking towards the village whilst bent over at a right angle at the waist, earning a few strange look from some of the tourists that were milling around.

"Reno! Let me down!"

"I ain't stoppin' ya from gettin' off!" Reno called over his shoulder as he let go of her arms, holding his own arms out to the side as if to prove his point despite the fact that he didn't stop walking. He felt Tifa try to maneuver herself off his back with some semblance of grace but she ended up just throwing him off balance. Reno was still laughing as they both went down into the powder soft snow at the side of the path.

"Honestly, you're like a child sometimes!" Tifa flustered as she scrambled to her feet, glad for the fact that her face was covered so the passersby couldn't see her red cheeks. Reno just grinned up at her as he proceeded to make a snow angel, almost as if to agree with her and simultaneously embarrass her even more. Tifa rolled her eyes behind her goggles and made to walk away from him but she was promptly hit in the back of the head by a snowball. She turned around, pulling her goggles up off her eyes and glaring at him. Reno pulled his own goggles off his eyes and she could see them twinkling with merriment. She was too busy concentrating on her 'Really? A snowball?' glare to noticed he had a second one ready and hit her right in the face with it. She spluttered as his laughter filled her ears, frantically wiping at her face with her gloves. When she could see again, she saw him practically rolling in the snow, clutching his stomach as he laughed at her misfortune. Misfortune caused by him. Tifa narrowed her eyes at him but he barely noticed, such was the level of his hysterics. He noticed when she practically pounced on him though, grabbing handfuls of snow and throwing them onto him. It didn't take long for them to end up rolling around in the snow like kids, desperately trying to one up each other and cover the other in more snow. After a few minutes of what could only be described as wrestling, Tifa emerged victorious, her strong legs coming in handy to pin him down. He grinned up at her as she smirked triumphantly.

"No fair."

"No fair?! You started it!"

"Still no fair. You started with the higher ground."

"Yeah right, Reno! You're such a sore loser!"

"Hey, I ain't complainin' about bein' trapped between your legs. Just a shame 'bout the audience."

"What?" Tifa's head whipped around and she noticed more than few people staring at them. She had completely forgotten where they were. Two days trapped in only Reno's presence and she'd practically forgotten the rest of the world existed. She practically jumped to her feet, her cheeks burning as they filled with colour. She was glad this was the tail end of her trip so she didn't have to be known around town as the girl who rolled around in the snow with random redheaded ruffians.

Reno got up, dusting himself off before he jammed his hands into his pockets and started lazily along the path, seemingly nonplussed by the attention they had attracted. Tifa grumbled slightly but fell into step beside him as they made their way towards the large lodge she had been staying at. Reno stopped at the front door and pulled the door open, bowing low as he stepped aside to let her go in first. She rolled her eyes a little but her smile betrayed her as she walked in, Reno following close behind. She headed to the desk as Reno dropped heavily into a small chair by the table at the window. The receptionist raised an eyebrow as Tifa walked up to her. She pulled her scarf down and smiled at the young girl, pulling out her keys with the attached room number keyring from one of the zip pockets in her jacket.

"Hi. Miss Lockhart, I called to let you guys know I had been snowed in elsewhere and asked if my belongings could be kept safe?" Tifa explained. The girl took her keys and checked her details in the paper diary in front of her. Tifa leaned on the low counter, noticing the girl seemed distracted. She noticed the blonde's eyes flicking up now and again, although they weren't focused on her. She followed the gaze over the shoulder and noticed it was locked on Reno who was sitting slouched in the small wooden chair, gazing out the window in a bored manner. He had removed his hat and scarf from his face, his goggles pushed up into his hair and his long fingers drumming on the wooden table. Tifa looked back at the girl who was now looking right at her with a knowing grin.

"Yeah. I woulda stayed 'snowed in' for an extra day or two too." The girl said with a wink. Tifa's cheeks flushered.

"What? I... Oh no, we really were snowed in! I was in Modeoheim and-"

"Sorry miss, I didn't meant to imply anything!" The girl quickly explained herself, looking equally as embarrassed. Tifa folded her arms across her chest and looked off to the side, her face still feeling warm. The girl hadn't exactly jumped to false conclusions, but it was quite another thing for someone to imply that she'd been in bed with Reno for two days straight. The girls placed her keys back on the desk in front of Tifa. "I just assumed he was your boyfriend." She added as she cast another glance at the redhead.

"He's not." Tifa told the girl as she took the keys.

"I see. So he's single?" The girl suddenly looked hopeful. Tifa couldn't help the little niggle of jealousy she suddenly felt as she frowned. Was he single? She supposed he was, but damned if she was letting this girl know it. She was saved from trying to think of a reply that was both nonchalant yet a warning as Reno sauntered up beside her, casually throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"Ya get yer stuff okay?"

"Your belongings are still in your room, Miss Lockhart. We extended your room to a late check out free of charge. You have until 6pm before we need you to return the keys." The girl told them, her voice taking on a slightly flirty tone as her large blue eyes seemed to stare hungrily at Reno even though she was talking to Tifa. The brunette couldn't help but notice the girl had leaned forward in her chair, causing the shirt she wore to gape open a little at the neck. Oblivious, Reno turned to Tifa with a wicked grin.

"So you're telling me you have just over two hours left to make use of that room?" He hinted, his voice dropping a little. Tifa blushed slightly but couldn't help feeling slightly smug as the receptionist's face faltered. She was clearly interested in Reno but he was barely looking in her direction, his attention on Tifa alone. Tifa picked up the keys and flashed an overly friendly smile at the blonde, who suddenly lost interest in the couple as she dropped her head to read some paperwork on her desk. Tifa turned and headed for the stairs, her hand finding Reno's as she led him along behind her. She had just intended to pack her stuff and leave, but the little exchange with the receptionist and seeing the way the girl had stared at Reno made Tifa want to give him one last lasting memory of her. How ridiculous that she had allowed one other woman's desire for the redhead affect her at all, especially when Reno hadn't even given the girl the time of day. But as far as she was concerned, her little holiday romance wasn't quite over yet, and the girl's interest made Tifa aware that she currently had the redhead's undivided attention and she didn't want to give it up just yet.

Reno couldn't believe his luck as Tifa took him by the hand and led him up to her room. He had made that comment as joke to get a rise out of her and to throw off the blonde who had been making extremely obvious googly eyes at him, but she hadn't callied him a pervert OR rolled her eyes at him. _Maybe she isn't quite ready to let this end just yet. Or did she feel threatened by Blondie? Tifa, threatened by another woman? Pfft._ Reno internally snorted at his musings, which were cut short as Tifa stopped in front of him. Clearly they had reached their destination. She let go of his hand to open the door and stepped in, looking at him over her shoulder to see if he would follow. Reno felt a small grin creep across his lips as he followed her into the room. He looked around as he walked into the middle of the room, letting Tifa close the door behind him. It was a cosy enough little room, and very tidy. Short of the backpack in the corner, it barely looked like anyone had been here. He wandered over to the window and looked out over the sleepy little mountain town. He could see why Tifa had chosen here to take a break. No one here cared if she was a saviour of the Planet, she was just another tourist wanting to enjoy the slopes. He was watching the locals wandering around and wondering what the hell they did all day when he felt two arms wind around his waist from behind. He tilted his head to look over his shoulder slightly and saw Tifa giving him a look that instantly caused a twinge in his groin. He raised an eyebrow with a grin as he turned in her arms, lifting his own to wrap around her. They were still dressed in their waterproof snow gear which greatly annoyed Reno at this current moment since he couldn't feel her curves pressed up against him thanks to the padding. His train of thought was halted as Tifa reached up with her bare hands, obviously having shed her gloves while he was looking outside, and ran her fingertips across his cheek. Reno leaned his head into her touch slightly, his eyes locked with hers. He searched her eyes, his gaze flicking back and forth, unsure what she wanted. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle in a pleasurable way as her fingers ran across his bottom lip lightly. Did she want him to kiss her? Or something more? He didn't have to wait long for an answer as she slid her hands round to the back of his neck and pulled his head down to hers.

He watched her as she closed her eyes, pressing her lips against his gently. He realised she was being a little hesitant, as if she wasn't sure if he still wanted her. Usually, he would play with that information a little. Tease her, make her wonder, before completely seducing her and taking control. But they had a finite amount of time in this room. Hell, before she had to leave completely. Reno wasn't about to let it go to waste. He dipped his head slightly, pressing his lips against hers more firmly. She obviously wasn't expecting him to move so suddenly and her lips parted slightly as she gasped. Reno took advantage and gently slipped his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss and practically dipping Tifa over backwards. Her arms came up to wrap around his neck, as best they could around the padding of his clothing, and she kissed him back with equal passion. Reno closed his eyes fully as he grinned slightly against her lips. Who was he to say no to one last hurrah?

* * *

AN : A little silliness to punctuate the endless fluff haha! I reckon Reno would be like a kid in the snow, regardless if he'd lived in it for months.

I admit I was gonna have Reno basically drop her off and disappear back home, but this kinda just kept going. So yeah. Few more chapters to go!


	25. I'm The Boss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes a little jealousy can inspire some healthy competition....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.
> 
> AN: Consider this your warning!
> 
> This chapter contains descriptive sexual scenes. If this makes you uncomfortable, you can skip this chapter and miss no storyline! You have been warned

Reno's arms tightened around Tifa as he leaned her back, kissing her with a slow, gentle rhythm that left her moaning softly into his mouth. He had hoped that they would have spent the day in bed, but Rude's interruption had meant he didn't get the chance. Nor did he get the chance to tell her how much he'd enjoyed their unexpected weekend together. He figured showing her how much she still turned him on after the extremely passionate night they'd spent together would have to do.

He pulled her back up with him, his mouth never leaving hers as his hands started to pull at the zip of her padded jacket. He found himself suddenly eager to feel her skin beneath his fingertips again, a passion rising in him with haste. His managed to free her from the jacket and set himself to pushing down the waterproof trousers as she fumbled with the fastenings on his jacket. He could feel her impatience and he couldn't help but smile against her lips, glad to know she was as desperate as him for the skin on skin contact. She managed to get his jacket off as she tried to step out of her trousers, the material catching on her boots. She couldn't help but giggle as Reno cursed with a smile still on his lips. Her laughter rang out as he suddenly picked her up, flinging her over his shoulder as he marched over to the bed with long strides. She was still laughing, her eyes shining with mirth as he tossed her down onto the bed before kneeling down on the floor to remove her boots. She leaned up on her elbows, watching him as he hastily pulled her boots off one by one before grabbing her waterproofs by the hems and yanking them off. She couldn't help but grin widely.

"Are you coping okay down there?"

"Aw yeah, Lockhart, just peachy. Don't you worry, I got this." He drawled as he sat back in the floor and yanked his own boots off before standing up to remove the last of his own padded layers. She sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, staring up at him as she grabbed his hips.

Reno stared down at Tifa, his crotch tightening painfully as he took in the view. She was staring up at him, her eyes half lidded and a mischievous grin on her face. Her hands held on to his hips as she pulled him forward to stand directly between her legs, but they soon moved to the button of his jeans, undoing them with deft fingers. He lifted one hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, holding his breath as she very slowly pulled down his zip before sliding her hands back up to tuck her thumbs into the waistband. She inched his jeans and his boxers down at and almost agonisingly slow pace. He let out the breath he'd been holding in a slow, shaky exhale as she pushed the garments down enough to free him, her eyes dropping from his to take in the sight in front of her. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she pushed his clothing down past his knees, her eyes fixed on his erection as her tongue slowly ran over her top lip. He wanted to take control but he found himself frozen to the spot, waiting to see what her plan for him was.

Reno realised he was holding his breath again as Tifa slid her hands back up his legs. He let the breath go harshly as she leant forward suddenly and placed a lingering, slightly open mouthed kiss on the head of his cock. He seriously questioned if his knees weren't going to give out beneath him if she did what he thought she was gonna do. However, Tifa chose that moment to grab his hips tightly as she stood up, turning quickly and before Reno knew who hat was happening, he was on his back on the bed, his legs hanging off the end. Tifa was now the one standing looking down on him.

"Take off your tshirt." She practically ordered him. Reno didn't think he'd ever removed an item of clothing so quickly, his arousal flaring with her assertive tone. As he sat up to toss his tshirt aside, he reached for her only to have his hand literally slapped away. His eyes widened as Tifa placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him backwards. He couldn't have kept the massive grin off his face even if there had been a gun to his head. Tifa was smirking at him now as she stood between his knees, looking down at him as she grabbed the bottom of her sweater. In one fluid movement, she had pulled it over her head and tossed it aside. The fact that Reno had seen her naked already did nothing to quench his desire as he stared up at her from his reclined position. She slowly undone her jeans, pushing them off her hips while she gently wiggled from side to side as she did so. Reno propped himself upon his elbows, feeling like his eyes were practically bulging out his head as Tifa stood before him now in just her underwear. Her body was absolutely unreal, tightened and tone from years of working out and practicing martial arts, and Reno could practically feel himself salivating.

He felt himself leaning up eagerly as she bent over him, resting her hands at either side of him as she dipped her head to brush her lips against his. Reno growled softly as she bit his bottom lip gently before trailing kisses down his jaw and neck. He stayed propped up, the urge to grab her and rip the rest of her clothes off causing him to twitch slightly. He felt her smile slightly as she trailed moist, open mouthed kisses down his chest, following the line of his scar down to his hip. His great plan to give her a memorable last memory of him was being turned on its head. Tifa was in control, and Reno had never been so turned on.

He watched as she moved her lips down to the v shaped muscles of his lower abdomen, her tongue flicking out to taste his skin. He felt his breath hitch slightly as she travelled across his groin but avoided the very obvious part of his anatomy that was twitching to try and catch her attention. He watched her as she teased him mercilessly, paying attention to every inch of his skin except the part that now throbbed almost painfully. The anticipation was becoming too much.

"Yer killin' me here, Teef." He groaned softly. His groan turned into a throaty moan as she looked up at him, her lips suddenly finding the sensitive skin on the underside of his length. She gave him a grin that was worthy of... Well, him.

"Aren't we impatient?" She purred, her hot breath tingling against the moist spot of skin she had just pressed her lips against.

"I swear Tifa, don't you dare-" his head tilted back and his sentence was cut off with a throaty moan as Tifa ran her tongue up the length of him. She swirled her tongue around the tip of him and back down the base again before she looked up at him, humming with satisfaction.

"Don't I dare... What?"

"Make me cum before I get to fuck you." Reno growled as he lifted his head to look at her again. Tifa eyes sparkled as she gave him a wink before dropping her head to take the head of his cock into her mouth. Another moan escaped Reno's mouth as he let his head drop back into the bed as she gently held the base of him and took more of him into her mouth slowly. The warm, moist feel of her mouth was almost enough to completely undo him right there and then.

 _This is payback for the bath. And her fourth orgasm last night._ Reno thought to himself as Tifa tortured him in the most delicious way. Reno had pleasured her selflessly twice the night before while his body recovered enough to enjoy her again. She had tried to return the favour, but he had insisted that the only was he was going to cum that night was buried to the hilt inside her with her legs wrapped around him. She had blushed at his boldness, but he had assured her that to him that was sheer bliss.

Reno buried his fingers into his own hair as he closed his eyes, trying desperately to take his mind off the feel of her tongue as it pressed against him, her lips as she sucked on him, her hand as it massaged the base of him. She was threatening to drag him kicking and screaming over the edge of his release prematurely. It seemed that even her inexperience with his metal addition didn't phase her. In fact she paid it due attention, flicking the piercing entry point with her tongue and also gently pulling at the thick metal ring. She had obviously listened and took note when he had mentioned friction.

Reno was nearing breaking point when he realised she had released him, the cool air making him miss the warmth of her mouth. He was trying to recollect his thoughts when he felt her climb on top of him, straddling his lap. He opened his eyes to look at her and his mind went completely blank. While he had been trying to recollect himself, she had obviously removed the last of her clothing, and she now sat astride his lap completely naked. Her body was incredible, and he couldn't believe his luck in that moment. As he looked up at her, he realised that she was breathing heavily, her lips parted and her eyes half shut. When he felt the familiar warmth between her legs settle over the hardness between his, he couldn't have held back the groan in his throat even if he'd wanted to. She was soaked with her own arousal. The very knowledge that her being in control of his pleasure had turned her on as much as it did him caused his desire for her to burn even stronger. She reached down and curled her hand around him, positioning him at her opening. Reno's hands went to her thighs with a strangled moan as she slowly lowered herself into him inch by inch. When he was fully immersed in her, she stopped moving for a moment, breathing heavily, before she leaned forward and captured his lips in a fiercely passionate kiss. Reno strained to kiss her back with equal passion, the urge to be as connected with her as possible making his head spin. Reno's hands slid to her ass and squeezed firmly, causing her to gasp and pull back slightly. He looked up at her with eyes darkened by pure lust.

"You, Tifa Lockhart, drive me fuckin' crazy." He purred, his forehead pressed against hers

"Good. I want you to want me more than you've ever wanted anything in your life." She murmured against his lips as she started to move her hips. She rested her hands at either side of him as she moved, alternating between teasing the head of his cock with short quick thrusts and long slow ones that buried him fully within her. Reno's hands slid over her skin almost feverishly as she licked and nibbled at his chest and collarbones.

"Fuck." Reno practically hissed the word between his teeth as he tilted his head back, his eyes squeezing shut as he tried to concentrate on delaying his orgasm. She was expertly but ruthlessly earning moans and groans from him with each slow stroke. Every time he tried to move his hips against hers, she placed her hands firmly against his hipbones, holding him in place and leaving him to simply lie back and enjoy her. He was barely able to focus on anything but the feeling of Tifa riding him but he vaguely noticed her movements were becoming a little fevered now, her rhythm less smooth and controlled as she breathed his name against his chest. Reno slid his hands to her thighs as he lifted his head sightly to look at her. She had sat up slightly and tilted her head back, her hands clutching at his stomach as she moaned his name softly. He knew she was getting close, her hips now grinding against him as the base of his cock rubbed against the sensitive bundle of nerves hidden within her folds. The sight of her striving for her own orgasm against him was the final straw for Reno, along with the feeling of her tightening around him becoming too much to handle. He didn't have to worry about leaving Tifa behind as natural instinct took over her body, her hips bouncing and grinding against him almost furiously now as sweet release came over her in waves. Reno was sure he moaned her name loudly, and she his, but it was lost as the universe narrowed down to the connection between their legs while she milked the last of his orgasm from him.

The world started to slowly come back into focus as Tifa collapsed forward on his chest, both of them panting heavily. Tifa slid her hands up to rest on his chest as she nestled her head under his, Reno's own arms wrapping around her tightly. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and she sighed softly, raising her head to look at him. His heart almost skipped a beat as she looked at him with a warm, genuine smile, her cheeks flushed with the afterglow of what they'd just done. Reno found himself smiling back at her, his usual grin replaced with something softer. He placed a hand behind her head and tilted up slightly to press a gentle kiss against her lips.

"That was... Fuck, Tifa, you're even more of a turn on than usual when you're in control."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I didn't exactly have a terrible time either." She giggled slightly. Reno laughed with her.

"Well, thank the gods. I was worried you weren't enjoyin' yourself." Reno smirked as he suddenly rolled so that she was beneath him. He captured her laughter with his mouth as he kissed her. It was different to any other kiss they'd shared so far, slow and sensual and almost tender. Tifa slid her arms around his neck, sighing softly as her skin tingled. When he finally pulled away slowly, Tifa's eyes remained closed.

"I'm so tired now."

"Heh. No wonder." Reno grinned a little as he pulled himself out of her arms reluctantly and headed to the bathroom to clean himself up. When he returned, Tifa was curled fast asleep, breathing softly. Reno watched her for a few moments before he made a decision. Dressing as quietly as he could, he grabbed his PHS and snuck out of the room. He closed the door silently behind him and headed down the hallway, pulling out his phone and dialing a number. When the gruff voice answered on the other end, Reno grinned.

"Hey, partner. It's me."

* * *

AN : I know some of you guys enjoy the smut sooooo yeah. One more! Posting up the next chapter straight away so anyone who wanted to skip this can :)


	26. Is This A Date?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's kind of a date. If dates involve burgers and booze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : I do not own FFVII, Crisis Core, Advent Children, or any of the characters that you recognise. As much as I love these guys, they belong to those other guys.

Tifa's eyes fluttered open. She hadn't even remembered falling asleep, but the events leading up to her impromptu nap quickly came back to her. She sat bolt upright in bed, realising a blanket had been placed over her naked body. She looked around for her redheaded companion but found she was alone in the room and it was now almost dark outside. _Did he leave without saying goodbye? He wouldn't. Would he?_ She found herself thinking of the last kiss he'd given her. It made her toes curl just to think of how it had felt. She may be been the one in control during sex, but afterwards he had kissed her with a tenderness that almost made her heart ache. She rubbed at her eyes and got out of bed, wrapping the blanket around herself as she padded quietly over to her backpack. Rummaging around in the front pocket, she found her PHS and flipped it open. _Oh my god, it's after 6pm! I had to be out of the room by now!_ Tifa's thoughts of Reno were pushed reluctantly to the side as she scrambled to get dressed, grumbling at the knowing-slash-jealous look the little blonde receptionist would probably give her. She was mostly dressed and was just pulling her socks on, now in complete darkness, when she heard a key in the door. _Oh god, is someone coming in to clean up already?_ Tifa frowned as the door opened slowly and silently, and a head popped in. The glowing aquamarine eyes found her almost right away and Tifa couldn't stop the stupid smile that spread across her face.

_He didn't leave without saying goodbye._

Tifa blinked a few times _,_ her eyes adjusting as Reno flicked the light on while stepping in and closing the door behind him. His ever-present grin had a certain softness to it as he looked at her.

"Glad to see yer awake sleepyhead."

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. I just gotta finish getting dressed and I'll be out of here."

"No need." Reno shook his head, raising a hand to stop her in her haste. She looked up at him quizzically. "I figure you were probably pretty tired from the... _overexertion_ you've experienced in the past few days so I extended your stay 'til tomorrow mornin'." Reno explained, his eyebrows wiggling slightly at the word 'overexertion'. Tifa's mouth fell open in shock.

"Reno, you didn't have to..."

"Naw, I know. But I did. Also called Rude and let him know I wouldn't be back til tomorrow mornin'. He's crashin' at my place for a few days anyway so he don't mind." Reno shrugged slightly as he walked over to the bed and practically flung himself down on it on his back arms spread to the side. Tifa couldn't stop smiling. Not only had he come back to say goodbye, he'd made it so they had another night in each other's company.

"I really appreciate it. But... I gotta phone the bar and let Barret know."

"Already done. He knows you're runnin' late and he's gettin' in touch with that pilot buddy of yours to pick ya up tomorrow so you're not home any later than ya should have been." Reno drawled as he yawned widely before he sat up, propped back against his hands as his legs dangled off the edge of the bed. Tifa couldn't believe her ears.

"So let me get this straight. you've paid for an extra night in the hotel?"

"Yup."

"And you've phoned Barret to let him know."

"Uh huh."

"And you've arranged it so that Cid is picking me up so I don't have to travel home by chocobo and boat?"

"Sure."

"AND you've ditched your partner to spend another night with me."

"Four for four." Reno grinned "I also called work and told them I'd be late in so I can actually have a lie in tomorrow. Not that it really matters, the trees don't give a fuck what time I turn up." Reno snorted as he picked some fluff on the leg of his jeans. Tifa was staring at him in disbelief.

"...Why?"

"Because trees aren't sentient beings, Lockhart. They also don't wear watches."

"No, that's not what I meant, you idiot!"

"Hey, who ya callin' an idiot? You're the one who asked why the trees wouldn't mind when I show up." Reno grinned over at her. He was just winding her up for fun now. Tifa rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh.

"Reno."

"Yes, Tifa?"

"Why did you do all that for me?" She asked carefully, making sure he couldn't misconstrue what she actually wanted to know. Reno shrugged nonchalantly.

"I wanted to take you to dinner."

"You..." Tifa just stared at him, blinking. He leaned forward on his knees and stared back at her, refusing to blink. "You did all that... so you could take me to dinner?"

"Well, I gotta say thanks for all the sex somehow."

"Reno!" Tifa narrowed her eyes at him as he burst out laughing.

"I'm kiddin'! You just seemed beat and I figured it's kinda my fault. Considerin' ya got lost on a snowboard when you were well rested, think how far off course you could end up when half asleep on chocoboback." Reno grinned slightly. Tifa couldn't help but think his cheeky answers were actually a cover up for him being concerned that she actually might end up falling asleep on her chocobo and end up lost. The ride between Icicle Inn and Bone Village, which now housed a very small harbour, wasn't particularly perilous but it wouldn't exactly have been fun in the dark. A small smile crept across Tifa's lips as the redhead went back to picking at his tshirt, obviously a bit uncomfortable that she'd questioned his motives further. Tifa stood up and strode over to him, causing the redhead to look up at her. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

Thank you, Reno." She smiled at him. Reno's cheeks started to gradually match his hair as he looked away, mumbling slightly.

"Yeah, yeah. Just didn't want ta get annoyin' phone calls from your saviour buddies askin' what happened to ya." Reno huffed. Tifa chose not to point out that until he'd phoned Barret, none of her friends even knew she'd ran into Reno. She figured he already knew this fact but was just trying to save face. She laughed lightly and headed back over to put her boots and jacket on before she grabbed her wallet from her backpack and tucked it into her pocket before Reno noticed.

"Well, c'mon then. I'm starving!" She laughed lightly as the redhead got up to his feet, his cheeks back to their usual pale tone. He pulled on his jacket and followed her out the door, his hands jammed into his pocket.

They headed out of the hotel (not without Tifa flashing another overly friendly smile and a wave at the blonde receptionist who now looked downright hateful towards Tifa) and made their way to the local bar to grab food. Tifa picked the table in the corner in front of the large metal stove, rubbing her arms for warmth after the short but cold walk between cabins. Reno tossed his jacket over the back of his chair before he headed up to the bar. He leant across the bar to catch the attention of the gruff looking barman. She saw him talking to the barman and holding up two fingers before turning to call across to her.

"Tifa! Burgers okay?" He asked, aiming a thumb back over his shoulder towards the barman who was currently fixing up some drinks that he had obviously asked for. She nodded and Reno turned back to the barman, holding up two fingers again. She wondered what else he had ordered for them as the barman set up a tray and placed six drinks in varying glass sizes. She briefly heard the word 'tab' and the barman's grey mustache twitched into what she assumed was a smile and the redhead returned to the table with the tray. He set it down and slid into the seat next to her, grinning as he picked up one of the small shot glasses full of a clear liquid. Tifa frowned a little.

"What the hell is that?"

"Tequila." He answered gleefully as he knocked the glass back and picked up the second one. She was thankful that he hadn't handed it to her. Once he'd drank the second one, he picked up one of the two beers and took a sip.

"Reno, it's a Sunday night."

"No, it's your LAST night of bein' on holiday. So we might as well have some fun."

"I don't think I've gotten over the last round of 'fun' you put me through." Tifa told him with a slight groan. Reno stuck his tongue out at her and pushed the other beer towards her. She hesitated for a moment before she picked it up and took a drink. It was actually really refreshing. "Is there a reason you've decided we're drinking on a Sunday?"

"Not Sunday. Last day of holiday. And yeah, I gotta either drink enough to forget the fact that I done you a very uncharacteristic favour tonight, or get you drunk enough that you don't bring it up either." He teased, his blue-green eyes twinkling slightly. Tifa couldn't help but laugh.

"Is it really such a bad thing?"

"Feels like somethin' a lovesick teenager would do."

"Lovesick?"

"See, there ya go already. Drink this too." Reno pushed a thin tall glass at her, one of a pair. She picked it up with a large grin on her face, playing along since he was obviously unhappy that he was the one on the receiving end of the teasing for a change. She raised the glass to her nose and sniffed before she took a small sip.

"Really, Reno? Long Island Iced Tea? Are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Most definitely." Reno grinned at her as he picked up his own glass and took a very long drink. "Last time I got ya drunk, I got to see ya half naked."

"You've seen me completely naked now though." She raised an eyebrow at him as she took another sip. Despite being a notoriously strong cocktail, it was actually rather delicious. His grin turned mischievous and his eyes practically lit up.

"Exactly. So imagine what might happen this time!"

* * *

AN : Oh, Reno. You just can't handle being a little sweetie pie without having to throw in some distraction techniques!

We're nearly done, people! How sad it's going to be :( I never thought this little fic would get much attention but I have lovely followers and reviewers and you guys make my day! *mwah*


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